Remnants of War
by Sulti
Summary: Two decades ago the first civil war for faunus rights occurred in Vale. The victor was inconclusive and the country is left in a cold war with itself as each side musters it's forces. How will 4 daughters of decorated heroes from the civil war bring about a new era of peace in Vale? Divergent story from cannon, contains Faunus Ruby.
1. Prologue

-Ruby Rose: 28 July 132 Post-Great War 12:00 AM-

The door closes loudly and two silver eyes sparkle at the sight of a full moon. Ruby used to hate all the pent up energy she'd have past midnight during the full moon, but now the girl loves every minute she spends running through the nearby town. One step of the black boots on the cement outside her home and she's already a few dozen feet away. The fifteen year old doesn't even take two steps before vanishing in a flurry of rose petals and reappearing yards away. For an average man it would take an hour to make it to town by foot, but the five miles is covered in mere minutes with the help of an unlimited supply of energy and a semblance that lets her move faster than most cars. The first half hour in town is spent simply running along the rooftops, feeling the wind tickle the pointed ears sitting atop her head. The only thing held back is the howl rising in her throat, as she knows people are sleeping in the apartments nearby.

As she reaches the strip at the heart of her hometown Patch, Ruby slows down and surveys the area for her next destination. After a few seconds she settles on one of her favorite stores. It's a general outdoors store but she goes there for weapon parts more than any outdoors equipment. She skips up to From Dust Till Dawn and opens to door to be greeted by a ringing bell and an old man.

"Heya Gramps!" An excited wave follows her typical greeting.

"You're energetic as ever, Ruby." Comes the reply with a small smile.

Ruby quickly runs off to the "weapons and parts" section of the building, looking for any new stock. She barely manages to pass five minutes before realizing there's nothing new for her here. Over half of the attachments she's tried on her precious baby Crescent Rose and the rest either made no sense or were banned by her father for safety reasons.

"Yang is a walking sun and I'm still not allowed to attach a flamethrower…"

Ruby grumbles about her favorite of the forbidden items as she stares at the parts needed to make what's on her mind. She decides to pry herself away from her favorite section of the store before she gets too depressed about what she can't have. Her aimless wondering brought her to an area with dozens of different types of tents for camping, and Ruby slips inside a few to give them a test run. It's been far too long since she's spent a night in the forest opposite of town. Maybe she should have gone there tonight, seeing as the city has failed to keep her attention so far. A few shadow puppets and a short fairy tale later, she decides to leave the tents and continue roaming, this time stopping at a station with samples of many different types of music.

After sifting through the first three pages of sample songs the title This Will Be The Day catches her eye and she picks up the headphones to listen. She clicks her tongue in annoyance as she notices the headset is meant for humans going all the way over the user's head, and she can't replace them with in ear headphones due to the jack being inside the display case. Because she is awkwardly holding the headset to her ears instead of having them fully cover them, she's able to hear the ringing of the bell and shuffling of footsteps as another group enters the room. Ruby would have ignored them, but one decided to walk right up and stop less than five feet away from her. Upon turning around, she notices a man dressed in a completely black suit save for his red tie and red tinted glasses. He brandishes an equally red blunt weapon.

"Put your hands where I can see them."

"Are you robbing me?" The response came out with a slight tilt of the head, even though Ruby already knew the answer.

"What does it look like?"

Ruby takes quick stock of the thief and immediately notices his center of mass is much too far back to keep his balance and his weapon isn't in any position to make an immediate attack. After determining she has far more experience fighting than the man before him, she starts to slip her right hand behind her back, reaching for the crowning achievement of her fifteen years of life.

"Ah. Okay then."

She shakes her head in acceptance. In one smooth motion, the hunk of metal resting on her waist is whipped around in her right hand and extends into a scythe as tall as the girl wielding it. The extending end of the weapon hits her attacker directly in the stomach and sends him flying out the front window of the store. A quick burst of her semblance has her back next to her opponent, but not to fight. She only realized after her initial hit landed that her opponent might not have even had an aura, and rushed to make sure the thief doesn't need medical attention. After closer inspection, Ruby realizes he had a minimal amount of aura and was able to deflect the damage from going through a window. He was unconscious from the hit but the only visible injuries were bruises.

As she gets up from the downed man, three more have surrounded her. The only difference Ruby notices between them are the weapons they're wielding, one having a small caliber gun, one with a katana, and one with a fireman's axe. The three new challengers all look about as capable as the last was, so Ruby consciously tells herself to hold back, as she doesn't want to seriously injure anyone.

The one with the katana rushes in first, throwing a horizontal strike out once he gets close. Ruby jumps above the strike then fires a round from her weapon's sniper form. As the force of the shot sends her spinning, Ruby notices the axe wielder attempting an overhead strike from the opposite direction. In one smooth motion Ruby drives the butt end of her weapon into the katana wielder's temple while the blunt end of the scythe drives into the axe user's right side. She finishes the spin as the two fly in opposite directions and lands with one knee on the cement, staring directly at her last opponent. Before the man can even take a shot of the pistol in his right hand, a .50 caliber sniper bullet rips it out of his hand and put's it through a wall behind him. He immediately puts his hands up in defeat.

"Good choice," is the only thing Ruby manages to say before her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a large explosion from the top of a building near her. She turns towards the sound and catches a glimpse of an airship high tailing it out of a massive cloud of dust. Seeing as the last of the thieves has run away, Ruby folds her weapon again and places it back in the holster along the back of her waist.

"Hey gramps you okay?" Ruby calls out jogging back into her favorite shop.

"I'll be fine, thanks to your help."

"Heh, no problem, I wanted a good workout anyway. Oh and don't forget to call the cops or something, I don't k-"

"That's not necessary. We can handle them from here."

Ruby quickly turns towards the new voice, Crescent Rose already deployed again. Before her stands a woman who looks to be in her thirties, with curly blonde hair and green eyes. Her right hand holds a black riding crop and her left contains a badge signifying a licensed hunter. Ruby folds her weapon and quickly slings it back into its holster under her cape. The blond woman, Glynda, according to her badge, signals a few other people to handle the four men ruby took care of and start surveying the damage caused by them. After giving orders her focus falls directly on Ruby. The younger girl shrinks under the gaze of the full-fledged huntress, gulping audibly.

"You," the green eyes stare directly into Ruby's soul as the words are spoken, letting her know her next statement is an absolute command, "come with me, _now._ "

The emphasis put on the last word confirmed Ruby's fear; she had made this lady very, _very_ angry.

\- Ruby Rose: 28 July 132 Post-Great War 2:15 AM-

Ruby takes deep breaths to try and calm her nerves while staring at the one way mirror opposite the chair she was sitting in. Glynda immediately took her to the nearest police station and sat her in an interrogation room before stepping out to without saying why. While normally a fan of getting painful events over quickly, Ruby would happily take a minute or two away from the deadly stare of the huntress, even if it's just delaying the inevitable. Unfortunately, she didn't even get that as Glynda reappeared mere seconds after leaving. The door slowly opened as the older woman walked in taking a deep breath with her eyes closed.

 _Well, at least she's calmed do-_

 _*_ _ **WHAM***_

The sound of the door slamming instantly proves Ruby's thought wrong, and Glynda begins to rant in a tone barely below shouting that hurts the wolf ears hiding beneath Ruby's red hood.

"The men you took out today were being led by a man named Roman Torchwick. We have intel suggesting he's stealing large supplies of dust for a terrorist organization that threatens the entire country of Vale. We finally get the chance to tail him and find just who he's working for when some _kid_ with an oversized scythe comes in and risks her own life while only managing to ruin my operation and _endanger_ the people around her more. Do you have any idea how much trouble you managed to cause tonight?"

"I was just trying to help gramps!"

"And your attempts to help broke both his front windows and put a _hole in his wall_ from a sniper bullet. If it were up to me I would have your weapon confiscated-"

"You can't do that!"

"And have whatever hunter that taught you suspended indefinitely… But, luckily for you, one of my superiors demanded he speak to you before making any decisions."

Glynda steps towards the door and from it appears a man dressed in a black suit with a green turtleneck underneath. On the bridge of his nose sits a pair of small, round glasses. He strolls up to the chair and lays down a batch of chocolate chip cookies from his left hand while taking a sip from the mug in his right. She's seen this man before, but she can't quite remember where.

"Ruby Rose…"

"Yes…"

"That was quite a display you put on earlier tonight, might I ask where you learned to fight like that?"

"Signal Academy." Ruby relaxes as the man doesn't appear to be here to lecture her. With her more relaxed state she feels free enough to reach for the cookies laid before her and finishes the entire plate before the next question is even finished.

"I take it you worked closely with Qrow? He's the only fellow professor I know who could teach someone to wield a weapon that dangerous."

 _That's Professor Ozpin_. The realization finally hits her that the man before her is the headmaster at the most prestigious hunter academy in Vale. Beacon Academy, the place Yang worked all summer to get into and she dreams of going in two years' time. Suddenly her nerves return, but for an entirely different reason.

"Hehe, that's my uncle actually. He's taught me everything I know and then some. I strive to be as good with a scythe as him some day. I've been pra-"

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yo-You're Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ruby."

"Actually, I saw you in person once before. My sister went to visit Beacon last winter and I tagged along. We met you during a tour of the campus. Oh, we weren't formerly introduced though, so I'm no-"

"And do you want to become a huntress like your sister?" Ozpin expertly cuts the rambling teen off before things get out of hand again, bringing Ruby back to the reason he came here.

"More than anything in the world."

"Then how about attending Beacon starting next year?"

… … …

Ruby sits in stunned silence over the offer, mouth agape. Her shock is the only thing keeping her from hugging the man while blurting out her thanks. However, there's one problem that always haunts her when making a decision like this. The ears under her hood droop slightly, lowering the hood an almost unnoticeable amount.

"I don't know if someone like me would be able to go to a place as renowned as Beacon…"

"I'd like to mention that Beacon is an equal opportunity School that boasts a 70/30 Human/Faunus ratio. That's much better than you'll find at most hunter schools in Vale. And if you mean your financial situation, I am able to take one student of each class without tuition, so your father's financial burden would be lessened by you attending."

Once again, the girl was left speechless. On top of being given the deal of a lifetime, Ruby is amazed by Ozpin's clairvoyance. Either he read Ruby's mind, or he had done extensive research on her before coming here. Either way, there was no way she could turn down the deal now.

"I'll take your offer. You have no idea how much this means to me sir." It took all the restraint in her body not to give Ozpin one of Yang's signature bear hugs. This has to be the best day of her short life.

Immediately following her decision, Glynda reappears with a stack of ten books and a backpack. She splits the books into two stacks of five, and points to the half to her left.

"These are the books you will need for your first semester classes. They are to be returned to me directly at the end of the semester." She then points to the other set of five books.

"These are the materials you are to learn before the start of the semester. They contain the main concepts you are supposed to learn in your last two years of primary school, and you will need to know these books cover to cover by the start of classes on August twenty-fifth. I suggest you begin studying immediately, as poor grades could lead to you losing your scholarship. These books need returned by the end of the year, but you should have finished all of them by the end of August."

Ruby shoulders and ears drop at the sight of the books and suddenly she doesn't know if she made the right choice. Losing the free ride Ozpin is giving her would essentially mean she's no longer able to attend Beacon, and if only one of these scholarships are given a year, she's expected to be top of her class. Trying to hide her worry, she quickly shoves the books in the backpack Glynda provided and slings the weight that's on par with Crescent Rose over her shoulder with ease.

"No problem, I've been told I'm a quick learner." She the biggest smile she can muster while saying her final thanks and goodbyes before heading home.

\- Ruby Rose: 28 July 132 Post-Great War 3:30 AM-

Ruby walks through the door to her house and straight to the kitchen. She spies Yang in her usual spot at the table, looking up from her scroll to acknowledge her sister's return. It's not surprising to see Yang up at this hour, as she always managed to stay up later than Ruby, even when Ruby goes out on a full moon. They usually meet at the kitchen table when Ruby gets back from her adventures, giving her a chance to calm down before going to bed on restless nights like this.

"Got enough excitement for one night?" The older sister asks with a warm smile.

"You wouldn't believe what happened." Ruby doesn't even take the time to sit down before dropping the backpack she got from Glynda and letting the books spill on to the table.

"What are you doing with all my textbooks?"

"These are mine, and I'm preparing to go to Beacon Academy next semester." A face of confidence only a Xiao Long could produce emanates from the younger sister.


	2. Ch 1: First Impressions Are Key

-Weiss Schnee: ? Summer Circa 120 Post-Great War Late Night-

It's dark. It's so dark that she can't see the opposite wall. Normally when she'd wake up the sun would give enough light to make out shapes, even if the curtains were closed in her room. Weiss, still groggy from just waking up, tries to wipe her eyes.

 _Maybe then I'll be able to see better._

However, her hands don't reach her eyes. Weiss can't move her hands more than a few inches away from each other. Her consciousness shoots awake as she realizes she can't move her arms or legs. Her sudden violent struggles reveal that her arms and legs are tied to each other as well as some other object as she cannot roll away either. To make matters worse, the darkness isn't because of the time of day, it's because of a thick cloth currently covering her eyes.

" _Where am I? What's going on? S-Someone? A-a-anyone? M-Mother?"_ At this point Weiss can feel her own tears start to dampen the cloth over her eyes. The volume of her cries increasing along with her terror.

" _Father! SOMEONE! PLEASE! HELP ME! LET ME OUT!"_ The words are becoming high pitched even for a young girl's voice. A sharp pain followed by a strong burning sensation on her cheek cuts off her cries for help.

"You'll shut the $/(* up if you know what's good for you." A deep, husky voice with a thick accent drowned out her screams and cries of fear. The fear of the unknown voice along with pain of the slap accompanying it shocks Weiss into a paralyzed state. Her shaky, disjointed breaths bordering on hyperventilation are the only sounds she's making, her mind completely overloaded by the scenario she's currently in. She can hear voices but her current state makes it impossible to determine how many are talking or what they're saying.

Suddenly one of them shouts something loudly and Weiss feels a force pushing her backwards hard. After a couple of seconds the force reverses, throwing Weiss off her current position and into another surface just a couple feet away. Luckily everything she hit was cushioned and didn't hurt physically. She hears the sound of car doors opening and fighting, gunshots and metal colliding with metal.

The newfound fear for her life has made her screams return as her bladder finally gives out. She tries to drown out the battle going on mere yards away for what feels like an eternity, until finally she feels a hand grab the cloth covering her face. As the cloth lifts Weiss closes her eyes and screams as loudly as possible.

"Shhhh. Shhhh. It's okay, I'm here to help you. The bad guys are gone now there's no need to cry anymore." A soft, quiet voice comes from in front of her as the restraints on her arms and legs are removed. A pair of arms wraps around her waist and a head rests on top of her own while the calming noises and words continue to flow from the person in front of her. Weiss does nothing but cry into the chest of whatever is in front of her for minutes before she calms down and softly pushes away from the body.

Before her stands a woman more beautiful than anything Weiss has ever seen before. Her blonde hair flows down into red tips resting at her shoulders, making it seem as if there is a sun shining just behind the woman's face. Her silver irises appear as two full moons resting in her eyes. The combination makes her look as if she was a piece of nature herself, some sort of guardian of nearby forests come to rescue her. Her outfit is comprised of a mainly beige shirt with a yellow pattern that flows into a combat dress. Covering her back is a large golden cloak that flows all the way down to her ankles. However, the most captivating feature for the young girl was easily the two pointed ears sitting atop the woman's head.

From what Weiss knew of faunus, she had pictured them completely different. She heard nothing but evil tales of how they hurt her family, stole from her parents, or did anything in their power to make humans miserable. She envisioned them as hideous, monstrous things that were closer to animals than humans. But this one woman, the one faunus that saved her life, gave Weiss a whole new perspective on the race.

"You… helped me?" Weiss couldn't help uttering out in surprise, still staring intently at the ears resting atop her savior's head.

"Not all faunus are bad people. My names Summer, may I ask yours?"

 _Summer._ _Summer._

For a few seconds Weiss did nothing but repeat the name in her head. It was perfect for her. The beauty and the warmth of her actions and voice perfectly fit her name.

"Weiss… Schnee." Her voice was barely above a whisper and she was too awestruck by the person in front of her to say any more.

"Schnee? Well I guess that means I don't have to ask you to direct me to your home. Come here and I'll carry you back." She opened her arms and gave the warmest smile Weiss has ever seen. Weiss walked back up to her and put her arms around Summer's neck as she was hoisted from the ground.

After a few hours the two managed to make it back to Weiss's house and Summer gently lowered the young girl to the ground before stopping to talk.

"Do you know if your mom and dad are home right now?" Summer crouched so she was eye level with Weiss as she asks. Weiss shakes her head in response.

"No. Father and mother are out in Atlas for business."

"Good, are there housekeepers or caretakers at your house right now that will meet us at the gate?"

"Uh-huh. Lyn lives here with us and always answers when someone's at the gate."

"Good."

"Why was it good that father and mother weren't there?" The ears on Summer's head twitched slightly and her eyes widened a bit at realizing the child caught her slip-up. Her surprised face immediately calmed and her honest response was as warm as everything else she said that night.

"Your father might mistake me for a bad guy because of my ears. Remember your surprise when you noticed them?" She continues after Weiss nods in affirmation, "Well many people see all faunus as bad people, so he might think I'm a bad guy and try to hurt me. But you know better right?"

After Weiss nods again Summer hits the buzzer at the gate. Immediately, a woman's voice responds from the other side.

"Oh please tell me little Weiss is okay."

"I have her right here; can you come pick her up? And don't worry about the payment; I wasn't here for the money in the first place."

"Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me. I'll be there right away."

In the seconds between the intercom switching off and the woman appearing at the gate summer put her hood up and made sure Weiss had no visible injuries. A few words were exchanged between the older woman and Weiss's hand left Summer's and entered Lyn's as she walked through the gate. Summer waved and gave one last warm smile while Weiss entered into her house with Lyn. After quickly bathing and changing into fresh pajamas Weiss laid in bed and fell asleep remembering the face of the first person she's ever admired.

* * *

Weiss opens her eyes to see the ceiling above her bed. The room is still dark as the full moon is the only current source of light. A restless Weiss hops out of bed and quietly makes her way downstairs before overhearing her father's voice coming from his study nearby.

Silently, Weiss makes her way to her father's study and places her ear on the wall, curious as to what the conversation is about. She listens to hear her father during what she assumes to be a phone call, since only one half of the conversation is audible.

"Finally, you've found her?"

"It's about time, with how much I paid you to find that faunus scum you should have had it done weeks ago."

"You've set up a meeting with her correct?"

"And you _gave_ her the location I specified?"

"Good. The second half of your payment will be delivered directly to your home tomorrow."

"What do I want with her? That _scum_ handled my daughter all by herself, no doubt attempting to corrupt her in any way possible. I will make her pay for thinking a _faunus_ is allowed to _touch_ my daughter. You are dismissed."

Weiss was easily able to connect the dots, seeing as Summer was the only thing on her mind the past few days. She knew her father planned to hurt the woman she came to adore, or worse. Weiss ran as quickly and quietly as she could back to her room and moved directly for her nightstand. Out of it she pulled a yellow rose that has managed to survive a full week without sunlight or watering. It's perpetual life a sign that its creator was okay. Weiss delicately held the flower in her hands as she cried herself to sleep that night.

\- Weiss Schnee: 20 August 132 Post-Great War 4:30 AM-

Weiss awoke from that dream for the first time in years. Fresh tears stained her pillow as she remembers the only person she's ever admired, the only person she's ever liked in her seventeen years of life. She rolls out of her bed and opens the drawer to her dresser, pulling out a green stem wishing for a miracle she knew wouldn't occur. Out of the drawer comes a stem with no flower on it, the now brown petals resting in microscopic pieces at the bottom of the drawer. She's checked this flower thousands of times over the past ten years or so. Every time she wished for a miracle, and every time she ended up with the stem of a long dead rose and tears she's unable to hold back.

After regaining her composure Weiss looks at her clock and her shoulder's slump as she realizes it's still before six in the morning.

 _Of all the days I could be woken by that dream… this has to be the worst. The day I begin life as just another huntress in training instead of the Schnee heiress and I have to make first impressions on five hours of sleep…_

Seeing as she won't be able to return to sleep this morning, Weiss gives up on going back to bed and instead heads to her family garden, as is her normal ritual after having that nightmare. She walks along the path looking out for another yellow rose, just like the one Summer gave her. Upon finding her target, she bends down and gently removes it from the rest of the roses, holding it close to her chest as she walks back to her room.

Weiss lies on her bed as she reminisces about everything she's done because of that one person. She spends the hours until her flight to Beacon simply thinking about her promise on Summer's rose to become a huntress, her scar when facing the knight as her father's test for becoming a huntress, her rebellion against her parents ideals, and her newfound determination to change the Schnee Dust Company and their inhumane treatment of faunus. Everything important to her can be traced back to that huntress.

 _And now, I finally get to follow in her footsteps…_

\- Weiss Schnee: 20 August 132 Post-Great War 8:25 AM-

"We will be landing at Beacon Academy in less than five minutes, Miss Schnee. Is there anything you require before touching down?"

The copilot's words echoing through the thick headset resting over Weiss's ears snap her out of her dazed state. She had been sitting in her seat, staring at the case in her lap for over an hour now as her ship made its way from the northern corner of Vale to its capitol's heart. This was the only bag she refused to give to one of the workers. It contained her most valuable possessions: her computer, supplies for her weapon, and the stem of a long dead rose. They were the only things Weiss truly considered her own, rather than Schnee property or items with no purpose.

"Miss Schnee, is there anything we can help you with before landing?"

The repeated question made her realized she was slipping back into the daze and shifted her gaze from the case to the door in front of her to focus herself. Her lack of sleep last night was already getting to her, and she hadn't even been up five hours.

 _This is going to be a long day…_

"Nothing for now, just bring out the cart and load it with the other suitcases when we land. That is all; I will handle moving it and unpacking later."

"Understood, we're moving to land now."

The ship descended and came to rest in a large clearing made for airships right at the front entrance of the school. Weiss takes quick stock of her surroundings as her luggage is carried out. She notices many other people the same age as her leaving a grey airship around four times the size of the Schnee vessel. She was offered a place on a similar vessel as a mode of transportation, but had preferred to take her family's ship instead.

Weiss scanned the people leaving the ship for anyone that looked well prepared. She read online that students in Beacon Academy formed groups of four people and Weiss wanted to be sure her group was the very best. She planned to remain constantly vigilant of anyone who seemed likely to excel at the school and make a note to approach them about teaming later. Unfortunately for Weiss, the only stand out person was a tall blonde woman with some curves that certainly didn't match her age. The well-developed woman quickly ran off with a large group of people, walking just a few feet away from Weiss. The woman had muscles almost as well defined as her fathers, which was no easy feat seeing as her father is able to spar with the best swordsmen in all of Vale. Combine that with her obviously stellar social skills and you get a great candidate for a partner, assuming her intelligence is at least passing.

 _There must have been 50 students in that airship and only one passing candidate?_ Weiss lets out a sigh as she's already getting frustrated at how disappointing her class appears to be.

After the pilots had finished unloading her luggage onto her cart Weiss carefully laid down her last suitcase and began to push the cart down the massive concrete pathway leading towards the towering white buildings of Beacon Academy. While Weiss took in the scenery and made mental notes of easily distinguishable landmarks, a small red hood backed right into her cart, scattering her suitcases.

"I have no idea where I'm-EEP!" A high pitched yelp came from the red hood as it fell to the ground along with the young girl wearing it.

At this point, Weiss snapped. Maybe it was the thought of suitcases full of pure dust destroying her most valued possessions; maybe it was just her lack of sleep making her cranky. Either way, Weiss lost all restraint and started yelling at the girl in front of her without realizing half of what she was saying.

"Do you have ANY idea how much damage you could have caused?"

"uhhhh-"

"Half of these cases were filled with high purity dust. You could have blown this entire landing pad sky high! How stupid do you have to be to walk directly into a cart more than twice as large as you anyway?"

Weiss opens a case nearby her feet and opens a vial to inspect its contents.

"If you had cracked even one of these vials with your little stunt you could have cratered the launch pad, and if the hunters around you didn't have their aura –"

"CHOO!"

And just like that, the exact scenario she was describing occurred before her very eyes. The sneeze created a small crater in the ground, and ashes flew all over both of the girls, leaving their close tinted with grey.

At this point, Weiss can't even process what she's saying. She can feel the heat of her anger boiling through her face and she could only let all the hot air out through insults hurled towards the figure that only shrunk away more with each word. If the smaller girl with the red hood was saying anything, Weiss had no knowledge of it, until,

"I said I WAS SORRY PRINCESS!"

The voice was so loud it even drown out Weiss's own yelling, leaving her shocked for long enough to bring back her senses.

 _Now I've done it… Less than an hour in and I'm already failing at following in Summer's footsteps._

"It's heiress, actually." The new voice belonged to another woman, this one closer to the Blonde girl's height than her own. She was dressed in black and white attire with a bow on her head and a cleaver on her back. Her amber eyes seemed to glow in the same way her father's did, a sign that this girl has definitely seen fighting in her lifetime.

 _I'll have to keep my eyes on the bow as well as blondie._

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee dust company-" As the girl with the bow shared her knowledge of the heiress, Weiss saw the perfect opportunity to make a potentially valuable friend. She hates using her father's company to get on someone's good side, but the lack of talent she's seen so far made her jump at any chance to ally an experienced fighter.

"Finally, some recognition!"

"- the same company infamous for its questionable business practices, including the mistreatment of faunus laborers."

 _Annnnnnnd there goes that opportunity._

"I am not my father." The sentence is barely over a whisper as Weiss knows the comment makes no difference at this point. She simply places the last of the fallen luggage on her cart and walks away from the other two before things get even worse today.

 _Not that it could get any worse._

\- Ruby Rose: 20 August 132 Post-Great War 8:55 AM-

 _Could this day get any worse…_

Ruby's shoulders and back slump as she watches Weiss Schnee hurriedly walk away from her, surely still furious about what happened.

 _I can't blame her for hating me. I did almost blow her up as well as yell at her just to say I'm sorry…_

Given Ruby's status as a faunus in a society that views them as second-class citizens, as well as her more socially awkward nature, it was already more than a little hard to make new friends. Just before landing she was hopeful that she could just stick with her sister and maybe become friends with whoever she meets, but Yang clearly had other plans.

 _I couldn't make friends my own age, how am I supposed to get a person two years older than me to like me? I don't even know what seventeen year old people talk about!_

Ruby looks away from the retreating heiress and realizes the monochrome girl next to her was still staring at her. She seemed friendly enough, coming to her aid just before.

"Um… Thanks for the help. My name's Ruby." She holds her hand out for a shake, trying not to make herself look too awkward.

"Is there a reason you use the hood to hide your ears? I tend to feel it restricts your vision and hearing too much."

The off topic question caught Ruby off guard, leaving her confused for a few seconds. When she finally realized the girl found out about her ears, her eyes widened in horror. She knew the bigger cities were a lot less friendly to faunus, and she tried to keep her hood up as much as possible so people wouldn't immediately know of her heritage.

"H-H-H-How did you know? I've had my hood up this whole time! Please don't tell anyone else about them."

"Why are you so nervous? We both know we're faunus, I was just curious is all."

Ruby calmed down at hearing the other girl mention she was also a faunus, but was still somewhat confused.

"What do you mean? How was I supposed to know you were a faunus?"

"The smell is a dead giveaway. Neither of us are wearing a large amount of perfume so… wait, are you saying you can't smell the difference?"

"No? I've never smelled any difference between humans and faunus."

"Were your parents both faunus?"

"No, my dad is a human, my mom was a faunus."

The girl with the bow paused for a second, debating something, before shaking her head as if to dismiss a thought.

"That explains it. I'm a full blood faunus, both my parents were faunus so my hearing and sense of smell are slightly stronger than yours, despite us both being faunus. But you never answered my question, why a hood over a hat or bow? It seems harmful in combat."

"I never go anywhere without my cloak. It was hand made by my mom and it's my second most prized possession next to crescent rose."

"Oh," Her reply sounds almost disappointed, "Well, if you need help with another faunus hater, feel free to come to me, but for now I'm going to do some scouting on my own."

The girl turns to make her leave and Ruby realizes that she never got the other girl's name.

"Ah wait!" She yells at the retreating faunus, "I never got your name."

"Blake."

The girl with the bow answered without even breaking stride, clearly no longer interested in Ruby.

 _Well, I wouldn't say friends, but at least it's getting better. Maybe I'll even be able to get the next person to walk around campus with me!_

"Hey, I'm Jaune"

\- Yang Xiao Long: 20 August 132 Post-Great War 4:45 PM-

The past few hours were quite kind to Yang Xiao Long. First of all her sister didn't manage to find her for the past Seven hours, meaning she already found another person to hang out with. Yang knows how Ruby tends to turn people away, her incredibly high amount of energy and obsession with weapons tends to turn people off, so Yang was worried her "Ditch-Ruby-so-she-makes-her-own-friends" plan would backfire. If that happened Ruby would no doubt speed all around the campus to find Yang and cling to her for dear life. Luckily, that didn't happen, meaning Yang could get her other business attended to.

Her first order of business was finding some hometown kids who could tell her about the city. The group she ditched Ruby for happened to have quite a few guys who were quite familiar with the big city. She played the party girl and got quite a bit of info on the less savory parts of town as well as where the nearest bars were.

 _It's almost too easy to get the info I want with this body. Those boys would say anything to keep me close._

A smile emerged on Yang's face when thinking about how the boys of the group talked to her like she was some sort of goddess. She got everything she needed out of them and more, and still managed to ditch them without even dropping a phone number. By the time she slipped away it was almost noon so she followed the signs directing freshmen and ended up at a large building near the center of campus. As Yang had predicted, a huge feast was gathered there and Yang happily dug in on a variety of different foods. She usually prefers to make her own meals, her body doesn't just happen by chance, but she would have to make an exception for the next few days. After digging in she took a jog as compensation for the gratuitous amount of meat she ate, then decided to get familiar with the campus on her own.

After getting a general feel for the layout of campus, now knowing where dorm side, recreation side, training side, and academic side of the campus are, she returned to the meeting area for freshmen and found out that there was an introduction speech by headmaster Ozpin at 5:00 PM. And that brings her here now, looking around for the little sister who will no doubt complain about how horrible everything went and it was all her fault.

"Hey Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" Yang yells over the crowd when the still hooded figure walks in alongside a blond boy.

 _Wait, isn't that the guy who barfed on the way here?_

After a few words to the blond Ruby hurries over to Yang, arms crossed and eyes narrowed after reaching speaking distance.

"So, how'd your first day go 'lil sis?" Yang started, wondering about her meeting with barf-boy.

"You mean after you ditched me and I exploded?"

 _I know her too well._

"Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad."

"No. I literally blew a _hole_ in the landing pad just outside the gates."

...

"Ruby, for something to be considered a joke it has to be funny first."

"It's not a joke! I tripped on some girl's luggage and she was yelling at me and I sneezed and blew up some red dust, and she yelled at me even more, then I learned she-"

"You're lucky no one was seriously injured by that explosion!"

The new third voice came from a girl barely taller than ruby, despite the two year advantage. She had snow white hair and very light blue eyes that burned with a fury that Yang could appreciate.

 _I guess things weren't as good as I expected…_

"You really exploded… wow." She didn't know whether to feel sorry for her or laugh hysterically at the thought.

"It was an accident! My nose is kinda sensitive and the dust tickled…" Ruby's plea came with the same downcast expression that commonly used to get her way back at home…

"Don't come near my dust supplies again if you want to make it up to me." …But it seems the white haired girl was completely immune to it.

 _Well, seeing as this is partially my fault, I should at least try to help her out here._

"It looks like you got off on the wrong foot with my sister. I swear she isn't normally a klutz; and she lived around all my red dust without ever blowing up our house. So how about you just start over."

"Sister?-"

"Great idea! Hello Weiss! I'm Ruby, nice to meet you! Wanna hang out sometime?"

"Yeah we can paint our nails, and try on new cloths and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there."

 _That was good. Keeping sarcastic comments going for more than a few words is harder than it looks. I could get along with this girl._

"Really?"

…

…

…

 _I trained her better than this!_ Yang physically face-palms at the innocence of her sister.

The conversation between the three is cut off by the headmaster making his appearance and starting his opening speech for the incoming freshman class. He speaks for only a few minutes before being replaced by a woman with curly blonder hair and green eyes.

"You will all gather in the ballroom tonight to sleep. Curfew is at 12:00 AM. Tomorrow at 10:00 AM is your initiation, so make sure you are well rested and on time. That is all, you are dismissed."

\- Blake Belladonna: 20 August 132 Post-Great War 11:30 PM-

Blake leans up against a wall near a candle and pulls out the newest edition of her book of choice. The great thing about _Ninjas of Love_ isn't really its great writing or the genre, even though Blake is a fan of both. Why Blake usually has the book out is because it's easy to follow and quick to read, meaning she doesn't have to give it her full attention. This is perfect for Blake because she generally reads it while also using her superior hearing to spy on others.

 _Some habits die hard I guess. This is a good way to find out which partner I should choose tomorrow at initiation at least._

First she spies a quiet male with dark hair and a green robe. He appeared to be reading like her and not even looking to start a conversation, making him a good target for Blake.

 _He probably wouldn't be bringing in a lot of extra people, wouldn't drag me around, and very unlikely to ask questions about my past._

Before Blake's opinion rose too high, a girl with short, orange hair and teal eyes skipped up to him and started talking far faster and louder than anyone else in the ballroom. Blake's desire to partner with the quiet male went from extremely high to impossible as soon as he realized it would mean dealing with his friend.

Her gaze continued moving left from the far right wall until hitting the Schnee heiress. She was sitting straight up with perfect posture while carefully scanning the rest of the room from what appeared to be the exact midway point of the opposite wall. She looked just as frustrated as she was when they parted ways at the landing pad, sighing constantly during her examination of her classmates.

 _A Schnee judging everyone else without a single shred of knowledge about them? I never would have guessed._

Naturally, Blake's next target was the other girl from the landing pad. The faunus named Ruby. She was currently talking to a tall blond girl. From what Blake could gather from their conversation, the two were sisters, and Ruby is younger than the rest of the class.

 _She's still wants to make friends with the Schnee girl? Does she have some sort of death wish?_

While thinking about how the heiress would react to Ruby's ears, Blake failed to notice the younger faunus meet her gaze. The blonde noticed then grabbed Ruby's hand, forcing the two of them directly over to her.

"I believe you two may know each other?" The blonde speaks first, obviously trying to force Ruby into a conversation.

"How could I forget the girl who blew a hole in the landing pad?"

"Ruby. Please… just call me Ruby…"

The blonde flinches a bit, probably at how awkward this conversation already seems, before speaking again.

"So… What's your name?"

"…Blake."

"Well I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I really like your bow."

 _Good, because it's not going anywhere._

"Thanks."

"Lovely night we're having. Don't ya think?"

 _I guess I'll have to be direct if I want her to leave… now for the second reason I always have a book out while evesdropping._

"Yeah, it's almost as good as this book."

…

"That I will continue to read now."

…

"As you leave."

"What's the book about?" Ruby makes her first real comment of the conversation, at least giving Blake a reason to participate.

 _Except I cannot under any circumstances tell you what's in this book._

"It's about a man with two souls. Each fighting for control of his body."

"I love books, I still remember Yang reading to me about heroes slaying monsters and saving the world. There a big reason why I want to be a huntress."

"This world isn't some fairy tale, there will never be a 'happily ever after'."

"But that's why we're here… to make it better."

"Awwww… You're so cute when you talk about your dreams like that!" Yang hugs Ruby tightly while Ruby fights to get away.

"As cute as this is, I'm going to go read elsewhere."

Before Blake can escape, however, the heiress managed to make her way over from the far wall and begin to voice her displeasure with Ruby once again.

"What the hell are you two doing? Don't you realize people are trying to sleep? It's past midnight you know!"

"Lay off drama queen, we're just having a conversation!" Yang yells over the heiress.

 _What happened between those two? Surely it couldn't be worse than causing an explosion of your property in your own face._

"Shhh! Yang! People are trying to sleep."

"Now you're on my side!"

"I was always on your side!"

"What's your problem with my sister?"

"I don't know, maybe the fact that I got off a two hour flight after five hours of sleep just to be nearly blown up by her inability to control her own body!"

 _Hm? She must feel bad about her overreaction, or she wouldn't bring up the sleep or flight. Guess that's as close to a 'sorry' as I'll ever see coming from a Schnee._

Blake decides to leave the conversation on a personal high note, relocating to the corner near the dark haired boy and his obnoxious sounding friend.

 _It'll still probably be quieter than here._

Blake sits back down and actually reads this time instead of listening in on the people around her. She has had plenty of people watching for one day now. She hears the heated talk between Yang and Weiss continue in the background for about twenty minutes, before they finally part to get some sleep. Blake looks up after and notices Yang laughing about the whole thing while Ruby chastises her about something. Meanwhile, Weiss looked very tired but had a small smile that surprised Blake. It was the first time she's ever seen a wealthy, powerful family member that enjoyed any interaction with anyone they consider less than themselves.

\- Weiss Schnee: ? Late Night-

Weiss opens her eyes and slowly surveys the room around her. It's small, probably smaller than an average hotel room. The walls were completely bare, and the only items in the entire room were a desk, two chairs, and a computer. The light came from a singular ceiling light directly above the desk. Weiss is currently seated looking at the computer, with the second chair directly across from her. In that other chair rests a familiar face, with soft features, blonde hair ending in red tips, and a pair of unforgettable silver eyes.

 _Summer. I'm dreaming of you again?_

"I'm doing everything I can, so why do you keep showing up in my dreams?"

Summer never responds, instead, the light starts to fade and the room fills with a chill fit for mid-winter. The light gets to a point where eyes are the only things visible in the darkened room. While the temperature has easily reached freezing, Weiss isn't concerned with it since she's grown up in the northernmost part of the country, where winters spent more time below zero than above.

Weiss feels a warm liquid run down her hand from her wrist. She looks away from Summers eyes and tries to make out the source of the strange substance. After straining her eyes for a few seconds, the features of her hand become slightly more visible. In her clenched hand is her Multi-Action Dust Rapier, Myrtenaster. A red liquid runs down the white blade and onto Weiss's hand. Weiss gasps at the sight of blood being drawn by her own hand, and immediately follows the blade towards the source of the liquid. She cannot see the wound directly, but it becomes obvious by the direction the blade is pointing that the person sitting across the table from her is the one injured by her rapier.

 _What?! I-I… I didn't do this! I would never hurt Summer!_

"Weiss, I'm on your side…"

The voice across the table speaks weakly. As Weiss looks up she is able to make out the red tips of the tip of her company's bangs down to her chin. The warm, soft features from before are replaced with a combination of terror and pain. The smile is replaced by a slightly open mouth with blood dripping from the corner.

"Summer? I never wanted this! I didn't want you to die! If I knew you were going to die I'd rather you never rescued me!"

"I was always on your side…"

The voice, much clearer than before, sounded slightly higher pitched than normal. The light continues to reenter the room and more of her victim becomes visible. The blond hair she expected was replaced by a much darker brown color, and her yellow cloak was replaced with a deep crimson color. Weiss can barely believe her eyes as the full figure of a girl she recently met stands with the same face and virtually identical combat attire as the woman who saved her life around a decade ago.

"Ruby…?"

That's all Weiss is able to say in response to the situation at hand. Her horror doubles at the thought of herself killing an innocent girl younger than even herself. Someone she just heard proudly declaring that her only desire was to make the world a better place. She's unable to look away from the silver eyes, and eventually catches a reflection of the table, the computer, and a single figure gripping a white rapier. The figure is tall and masculine, it's face revealing the most dreadful monster Weiss has ever known… her father.

* * *

Weiss jolts immediately into a seated position. Her dream left her in a cold sweat, nearly paralyzed in fear as she takes in her surroundings. She's in a large room, lying on a pile of sheets that had to replace a mattress for just this one night. The room is filled with students, having no more than a few feet of personal space between them. Based on the light levels and the fact that not a single student is awake, it must still be early in the morning. After sitting completely still for a few minutes, not moving anything more than her eyes due to the shock her dream left her with, Weiss finally manages to forces her head to tilt down and look at the hands sitting in her lap. The blood from in the dream is nowhere to be found, and Weiss finally lets out a breath she's been holding for who knows how long.

 _I was just a dream, you didn't hurt anyone Weiss._

She controls her breathing and lies back down on her covers, but it quickly becomes obvious that she won't be able to sleep tonight either. Accepting her fate, Weiss takes her scroll and slowly stands up to leave. She wonders for a small time before finding a bathroom. She walks in and splashes cold water on her face, finally gaining the courage to think back to the dream she just had. Weiss knows the person with her started out as Summer, it was a full grown faunus woman with blonde hair and silver eyes. She'd never forget that face. And she knows the person at the end of the dream was Ruby. Her size, her hair color and her voice were a perfect match to what she remembers from the day before.

 _They couldn't possibly be related. She didn't even react when she found out I'm a Schnee! There's no way she would say she's on my side if she was a faunus and knew that._

 _Summer was a faunus and she treated you as a friend, even after mentioning your name._

 _But Ruby would know a Schnee killed Summer, no one could know about that and not hold a grudge._

 _You wouldn't have known that a Schnee killed Summer if it wasn't for you overhearing your father. It's possible she doesn't know how her mother died. Your father has a history of making people disappear when needed._

 _But she didn't even have any faunus features, I would have noticed if she did._

 _She had a hood up every time you saw her. She could have easily concealed wolf ears under that._

Weiss sighs as she can't get a conclusive argument by going through her memories of Summer and Ruby. She decides to find out if Ruby is really hiding wolf ears, and letting that determine whether or not they could be related.

"I hope not. I don't know if I could live with the fact that her mother's death was a result of her interaction with me."

Weiss begins to make her way to the courtyard in the middle of beacon. She remembers seeing many different flowers and other greenery in the courtyard, including a large area with just bushes of roses. She arrives shortly and strolls up to the bed, gazing at flowers of any color you could imagine. She plucks a yellow one and sits at a nearby bench.

 _I have a bad feeling I'll be picking many more of you this year._

\- Ruby Rose: 21 August 132 Post-Great War 9:45 AM-

"What's with those two?"

Ruby speaks to both herself and Yang as a calm boy with dark hair and two pistols hidden in his green cloak walks by accompanied by an energetic redhead swinging around a massive Warhammer with one hand. The latter is talking about a new thing every few seconds while the former occasionally comments without missing a beat.

"Says the girl beaming at the sight of a giant scythe. You really that happy to be killing things again?"

"Yep! I'm done with all those awkward introductions. Today I get to let my baby do the talking."

Ruby cradles her beloved Crescent Rose and purrs slightly while stroking it.

"Ruby, you're not gonna go through four years of training without finding new friends."

"What do friends have to do with fighting? Dad only does solo missions now. And I don't need friends to grow up. I drink milk."

"Please Ruby, don't bring up dad here. We both know the reason why he only works solo now."

 _Of course, both of his last partners disappeared. You don't need to remind me what happened to our own mothers._

"That doesn't change the fact that he's plenty successful on his own!"

"Yeah but at what cost! He takes way more missions that Qrow, and the ones he does take leave him out of the house for twice as long. And despite all that he _still_ struggles to afford one of our tuitions."

"Qrow doesn't take as many missions because he has money from teaching already, he doesn't need to do them."

"That's BS and you know it. Qrow makes plenty off of just his hunter missions and teaches simply because he likes it. He's always helped dad financially because he makes more than he'll ever need for just himself."

"It doesn't matter anyway! I like camping and could live in the woods without worry. I don't need the extra time or money so I don't need to worry about taking the best paying jobs."

Even Ruby can tell how frustrated Yang is with how Ruby's acting. The older sister lets out an audible sigh and rubs her temples with her hand for a second, trying to calm down. While Yang is calming down Glynda's voice is heard through a speaker in the equipment room.

"All students report to Beacon Cliff for initiation immediately. I repeat; all students report to Beacon Cliff for initiation immediately."

Yang and Ruby begin leaving the room and continue their conversation on the way to Beacon Cliff.

"Fine, even if you can do everything solo after graduating, how are you going to find a team if you don't talk to anyone? You won't get very far here if you can't even do that."

"I dunno… I guess I'd just be in your team or something."

"I really think it'd be better if you weren't on my team…"

"Are you implying you don't want me, your own sister, as a teammate?"

"Ruby look; I only want what's best for you, and right now I really think you need to learn to make new friends. If I hadn't ditched you yes-"

"So you admit you ditched me!"

"YES, I ditched you. And if I hadn't you still wouldn't have talked to another freshman here. At least now you know Jaune and could talk to him now."

As if on cue, a downcast Jaune appears dragging his feet towards Beacon Cliff as Weiss and a girl wielding a spear and shield like a gladiator quickly walk away from him.

"What's up lady killer?" Yang leads Ruby up to her friend from the previous day.

"I don't get it, my dad said 'all women look for is confidence.' Where did I go wrong?"

"Well, seeing as she really didn't take ice queen well last night, I'd say Weiss isn't one for nicknames. So you were probably doomed when you called her snow angel."

"Come on Jaune, let's just get you to initiation." Ruby walks up to Jaune's right side and begins to pull his arm so he'll walk faster.

\- Weiss Schnee: 21 August 132 Post-Great War 10:05 PM-

 _All right then. All I have to do is look for the most competent person flying in my general direction. Once I land I just need to head in their direction and make sure to meet them before anyone else. In order of importance, I'll go for Pyrrha, then Yang, then The boy with the green suit, and Blake if all else fails._

Weiss runs through her plan one last time after Ozpin finishes his instructions for initiation. As her least likely candidate for a partner continues to ask questions, Weiss is launched through the air first in the whole group.

 _Damnit, I was hoping to go last to get a better view of everyone else's positions._

She rotates herself in midair to watch other students as they are launched off the starting platforms, hoping to get some idea of where they are going. A few boys she doesn't recognize and ignores their directions. The last person she manages to see before needing to turn around and focus on landing is none other than Pyrrha herself, who seemed to be aimed a few dozen yards away, on her left side.

Weiss stretches her limbs out while completely horizontal, trying to keep her forward momentum as fast as possible and glide to a clearing in the trees far ahead of her. When she gets close to her target, she places a few glyphs with combined with wind dust in front and slightly below her, rapidly slowing her forward and downward momentum. By the time she reaches the ground, she is moving so slowly that she doesn't need to take a step forward, let alone roll, to gain some balance on the ground.

 _All right, now to find Pyrrha._

Weiss makes a turn exactly ninety degrees to her right and begins walking straight in the direction Pyrrha was launched. Before even taking two steps she begins hearing a faint call coming from behind her. She has no clue where a majority of the freshmen were launched to, she turns to catch a glimpse of who the owner of the voice is.

 _If it's Yang or the boy in green, I suppose I'll let them find me. Beats getting stuck with Jaune. Anyone else, I don't make direct eye contact and continue searching for Pyrrha._

Weiss turns around to a familiar sight of a young girl with a red hood stumbling. At least this time she managed to save her fall by doing a summersault and springing back up to her feet. As the familiar face does so, she fails to notice the fact that the red hood has fallen from the head of its owner and now rests at her shoulders.

 _No… No way… That's impossible. This can't be happening._

Weiss's mouth is slightly opened and her eyes are as wide as can be as she notices the reason the girl's red hood has been up every time they met. On top of Ruby's head lays two pointed, fur covered ears. The distinct shape mimicking ears of a wolf perfectly, just like Summer's did. Ruby gives Weiss the same small, warm smile that's been in Weiss's dreams for years. Unable to handle the situation she's been placed in, Weiss turns and begins to briskly walk away.

 _It's just your mind playing tricks on you._

"Wait-"

 _I'll find Pyrrha, come back, and realize Ruby was never here in the first place._

"Where are you going?"

 _The lack of sleep is just catching up to me, making me see things. I'll find out later she isn't a faunus, or she never lost family members, or something that proves they aren't related._

Weiss walks through some particularly thick brushes and comes into a small clearing with one large tree in it. From the tree she hears a voice coming from above her. It was a male voice that belonged to the worst possible candidate for a partner. She doesn't even bother looking up enough to make eye contact.

"We must be destined for partnership snow angel." Jaune says from his position pinned to a tree.

"I already found a partner." She is already walking back towards where she saw Ruby.

 _I guess this is how Summer punishes me…_

"Keep up or you'll be left behind." Weiss doesn't even look at Ruby when she walks past. The latter hadn't moved a single inch since making eye contact with the former.

"You came back!" Ruby's exclamation is given to empty air as Weiss has already put a good 15 feet between the two. Weiss hears the girls footsteps follow a ways behind her as she calls out again.

"What's the hurry Weiss?"

"I will NOT have my first mission be delayed because my partner is too slow. If I get a bad grade beca- What the?!"

"I'm not slow, see! You don't have to worry about me." Ruby beams from inches away, covering the couple dozen feet in the blink of an eye.

 _I guess that's her semblance then. At least she isn't completely incompetent like a certain blonde boy._

"Just because I'm not good with introductions doesn't mean I can't make a good huntress. Just you wait, I'll take care of some monsters and you'll watch and say, 'Man, that ruby girl and really, really cool… and I wanna be her friend.'" Then Ruby's gone as quickly as she came, only leaving red rose petals as traces of her actually being there before.

 _That dolt. If she moves that fast there's no way I'll know where she went._

Weiss instinctively catches a single red rose petal before it falls to the ground, briefly thinking back to the dead yellow rose resting with her luggage.

"You may be fast but all you still only succeeded in wasting time!"

Her retort is met only with the rustling of the bushes all around her, far too much rustling to be done by just Ruby. Weiss quickly draws Myrtenaster and settles into her practiced fencing stance. Around her, beowolves start surrounding her, probably a dozen in total.

 _Based on their size and armor to skin ratios, they appear to be relatively young and weak. Not surprising, seeing as were so close to campus. Anything bigger would have been killed for the safety of new students. As long as I keep them relatively spread out and focus one at a time, this shouldn't be a problem, even if I'm alone._

Weiss takes half a step back and raises her rapier slightly, the dust cartridge now reading red. She rushes forward to deliver a piercing strike combined with red hot fire dust to the beewolf directly in front of her, but is cut off mid strike by the sudden reappearance of her partner. While her partner takes out the beowolf in front of the two, Weiss's hastily redirected strike sends a pillar of flame up a nearby tree.

Ruby turns to look at the incoming forest fire only to be knocked back by a beowolf waiting next to the one Ruby just tore apart. While stumbling backwards she runs directly into the heiress behind her and nearly brings both of them to the ground.

"You're getting in the way, Weiss!"

"Excuse me?! I was starting an attack before you appeared and nearly killed you because YOU got in the way!"

Ruby mutters something Weiss can't make out while they turn to look at the 10 remaining beowolves. Before Ruby begins her next strike, the burning tree falls directly in front of the pair. Weiss quickly switches to ice dust and freezes the area before the fire can spread any further.

"You take the ones on the right, I'll get the ones on the left." Ruby bursts off in a flurry of petals again after giving her orders.

With a flick of her wrist Weiss creates a glyph beside the beowolf closest to her. Using wind dust, she easily crashes the nearest two grimm into each other and subsequently into a tree. The two furthest away hold their ground and the nearest makes a clumsy lunge at her that only ends with the point of her rapier in the beast's skull. The remaining two are gone by the time she looks up and a figure making a peace sign and smiling broadly stands in their place.

"Well, think 'Ruby is really, really cool' yet?"

"You seem to be forgetting the fact that your reckless movement nearly started A FOREST FIRE!"

"Are you trying to say the fire was MY fault?!"

"I'm just saying I'm surprised someone who talks so much can actually communicate SO LITTLE!"

"I'm sorry you need help to win a fight versus BABY BEOWOLVES. I could have just killed them all on my own."

"Congradulations on being the strongest child to sneak into Beacon then."

* * *

After around a half hour of walking and another fifteen minutes of Ruby sitting around while Weiss tries to determine which way the shrine is, Ruby finally speaks up.

"If you stop wondering aimlessly and admit we're lost, I have a plan to help find the shrine."

"If you had a plan this whole time, why did it take until now to bring it up?"

"Well seeing as you insist on walking at least 30 feet ahead of me and haven't so much as looked in my direction for almost an hour, I haven't really been given the chance. It doesn't help that you act like you know everything and have to be in complete control."

"As much as I'd love to continue arguing with you, at least tell me your idea first."

"We hitch a ride."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that free airship laying around in the middle of the forest."

"On that."

Ruby points to a raven grim around the size of a four person table.

"Are you insane? Holding on to a grimm that is twice the size of us and wants to kill us and just riding it around?"

"We need the higher vantage point, and it's not like we can't just jump off it at any time. We landed from far worse just to start the initiation."

"Fine, we'll do this your way. This is a terrible idea…"

* * *

"RUBY! I TOLD YOU THIS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!"

"COME ON WEISS! IT'S NOT THAT BAD"

 _Anyone who gives a smile that wide while on the back of a NEVERMORE needs to be checked into an insane asylum._

Ruby's anger and depression from just minutes earlier completely disappeared the instant Weiss agreed to her plan, and now she's beaming like a child in a candy store. Weiss, on the other hand, was convinced this has taken over fighting the tin man for the worst memory of her life. The two have been on the nevermore for only a couple of minutes and Weiss is already making a mental note to never do anything Ruby sug-

"HEY LOOK! IT'S YANG!"

Weiss takes a look down, heights being the least of her fears right now, and notices a speck of black and yellow outside a small stone altar-like structure. It seems she's failed at being first to the relics too.

"ALL RIGHT THEN, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO GET OFF THIS THING?"

"I DUNNO. JUMP?"

"ARE YOU INSANE!?"

…

 _She jumped, didn't she?_

…

Weiss looks down to hear a faint cry of 'Yang' as the red and black blur plummets to the ground.

"OH YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE BRAT."

Looks like she'll have to rely on her own methods for safe landing again. Oh well, at least it's not like she didn't just use a landing technique earlier this morning. Weiss slowly makes her way down the back of the nevermore and stands on one of the talons, waiting for the right time to jump so she'll land as close to the shrine as possible. As she lets go she places one glyph at her feet and prepares to activate it with wind dust once again. As she reaches the treeline she activates the glyph causing a large propulsion of wind upwards so her falling speed is completely eliminated. In the same moment, one idiotic blond boy decided to jump from a nearby branch directly under her glyph in an attempt to catch her. Jaune was caught on the wrong side of the repulsion glyph and was sent hurdling to the ground at twice the speed Weiss was falling. Weiss breaks the glyph and lands less than a foot from Jaune's prostrated body.

"My hero..." Weiss says in a sarcastic tone before walking back over to her partner.

Ruby is holding a white knight chess piece up to Yang's perfect match in a way to make the horses appear to be kissing. They both appear completely oblivious to the fact that a nevermore aggravated by her and Ruby, as well as a deathstalker that Pyrrha and Jaune apparently brought here, are closing in on the shrine. Yang stops playing with the chess piece when Weiss and Jaune reach the rest of the group and looks over towards the deathstalker.

"The gang's all here. Now we can die together!"

 _Well, at least she realizes the situation we're in. Ruby would probably just charge at-_

Before Weiss could even finish the thought Ruby was yelling at the top of her lungs. She charged at the deathstalker and let out a strike with all her and her weapons might. Obviously, the blow bounced right of the deathstalker's armor. The armor has probably been growing for at least a decade with how thick it is, there's no way it will break with one attack from anything less than a fully-fledged hunter. With Ruby now running from both the deathstalker and the nevermore, Weiss has gone far beyond anger and is now just disappointed in how idiotic her partner can be. After a nevermore pinned the girl's red cloak to the groud Weiss started to remember the dream from the night before, and her self-confirmation of Ruby and Summer's relation.

 _I guess this is how I make up my debt to Summer._

Weiss creates another repulsion glyph, this time behind her, and places one foot on it while pulling back her rapier and twisting the chamber till it showed blue. In an instant, Weiss shot by Yang and arrived at Ruby moving at speeds only rivaled by her partner's semblance. Weiss creates a wall of ice using Myrtenaster that traps the deathstalkers stinger in place while she grabs Ruby's wrist and pulls her up.

"You are the most infuriating person I've ever been forced to work with... And I realize I can be difficult as well. So if you _try_ to work with me and stop showing off… I'll try to work with your suggestions as well."

"I wasn't showing off-"

"Later. We still have to deal with these two things." Weiss points back towards the death stalker behind her with her thumb as he pointer is raised in the air.

As they get back to the group, Jaune is the first to speak up.

"That thing is circling back, and the scorpion won't be frozen forever."

"We've already reached our objective-" Weiss begins before being cut off by Ruby

"So we have no need to fight these things. We have the relics so now we just need to get back to Beacon."

"Run and live. That's a plan I can get behind." Jaune finished and the group of eight began a mad dash back to campus.

* * *

The plan worked until the group remembered that campus sat atop of cliff around a hundred feet above them. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang managed to get separated from the deathstalker and the other four freshmen by a broken bridge and each group was struggling to deal with their own threats.

"I have a plan. Cover me." Ruby said in a brief pause they had while Yang and Blake kept the nevermore's attention.

Ruby vanished using her semblance and reappeared directly next to her sister, saying something before instantly appearing back by Weiss's side.

"Okay. Think you can make a bunch of those gravity glyphs all the way up the cliff's surface?"

 _What the hell are you planning?_

"I won't be able to hold them for long."

"They'll only need to hold for a few seconds, and have one at the top pushing it down like what you did to Jaune."

"All right, I'll do it."

"Activate them when I reach Big Bird."

Not even a minute after the two finish talking, Yang manages to taunt the bird into doing a divebomb directly into the cliff. Ruby uses the sniper rounds of her weapon as well as her semblance to place herself right next to the nevermore's head and wraps the blade directly around its neck. She runs at full speed, using as many sniper rounds as she can and activating her semblance constantly while dragging the nevermore closer and closer to the top of Beacon cliff. When she reaches the top, Weiss puts the last of her energy as well as her wind dust into the repulsion glyph situated above the nevermore's head. The head blows clean off the body and both come slowly tumbling down the hill as Ruby Rose stands atop it, victorious.


	3. Ch 2: Dorm Life

**Chapter 2: Dorm Life**

\- Ruby Rose: 21 August 132 Post-Great War 8:58 AM-

Ruby watches the door holding her breath. Because of her antics earlier this morning, none of team RWBY had left dorm side for classes until 8:55, with their first class beginning at 9:00. This isn't a problem for Ruby herself, as she can use her semblance and be anywhere on campus within a two minute timeframe, but the same can't be said for her teammates. Ruby arrived less than a minute after Weiss had pointed out the time, and had saved three seats hoping with all her might that her team would make it before class started. With less than fifteen seconds until the start of class, all three members burst through the door at once, panting heavily as they take their seats.

"YEY! You made it!"

Ruby reaches up and hugs Weiss, who took the seat next to her, around her neck. The older girl responds with a glare that could kill a beowolf on the spot and an equally icy cold grip on Ruby's forearm. Ruby retracted her arms and Weiss looked away to the front board, where the professor was starting class.

 _Not like being late on the first day matters. It's just a bunch of syllabus reading and boring introductions anyway…_

Ruby sulks with her head between her arms resting on the desk in front of her. The teacher introduces himself as Professor Port and begins with a joke so lame not even dads would tell it. He goes on to tell a long winded story about some encounter he had in his youth before fire and the wheel. It wasn't even half as interesting as what happened just the day before to her team and their neighbors, team JNPR. Within minutes, Ruby began doodling on the back of her syllabus, making a caricature of the professor.

It started off accurate enough; she did surprisingly well imitating the older man's wavy gray hair, thick eyebrows, and giant mustache.

 _Now that I think of it, he already looks like some cartoon character._

Ruby begins to chuckle at the thought of her favorite cartoon characters teaching Intro Grimm Studies as well as her increasingly poor looking Port imitation. The figure comes out as little more than a stick figure with a circle for a torso. The hair, eyebrows, and mustache are the only way to connect the two.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby notices Weiss glaring at her, and holds up the picture to her teammates. While Yang and Blake got a good laugh out of the drawing, Weiss only shot another deadly look her way before completely ignoring Ruby again.

 _Mental note, never bother Weiss during class time…_

Ruby spends the next five to ten minutes either staring at the clock or finding anything to distract herself. If there was actually some form of teaching going on she could sit still and pay attention, but the first day is just so boring that she can't keep up her concentration. And if the few glances in her partner's direction were any indication, her antics were making Weiss boil.

When the professor finally asked a question, Weiss' hand shot up like a rocket and she was called to the front of the class where a caged grimm was.

 _Wait. When did I miss the chance to fight a grimm? I guess I should have been paying more attention._

"GOOOO WEISS!" Yang burst out after Weiss takes a fighting stance.

Blake and Ruby join in cheering for Weiss, but the support was obviously not welcomed. The three stopped when they all began to think they could see the steam coming off of the heiress's head. Professor Port proceeds to take the lock off the cage, and a boarbatusk charges directly for Weiss the second it gets the chance. Ruby hasn't personally faced any boarbatusk, and watches the battle intensely, taking in as much information as possible. After a few swings have been exchanged it becomes obvious that Myrtenaster won't be able to pierce the armor the boarbatusk has all over its back and head. This sparks a memory of one of her many study sessions over last summer. She remembers seeing a section in the grimm biology book Glynda gave her saying that boarbatusks have much more armor on their back and head than on their stomachs, making their underside a major weak point.

 _This is sure to impress Weiss. She wants a smart partner; well I'll show her one._

"Weiss! Go for the belly! There's no armor underneath!"

Ruby yells out to the girl fighting, who begins to turn and make a comment. Before any words come out, the boarbatusk is on her again, forcing Weiss to ignore her partner for a few seconds while she deals with the problem at hand. The boar trips after a whiffed attack and Weiss manages a quick thrust through the grimm's stomach, killing it instantly. The professor declares that they are out of time and class is dismissed. Weiss quickly returns to her spot and gathers her belongings. It wasn't until she's passing Ruby to leave the room that she speaks up.

"I don't need your incessant babbling and giggling like a four year old every five minutes. During next class, _try_ to keep your mouth shut before I freeze it that way."

Weiss's words shocked Ruby and it took her a few seconds to gather her books before chasing after her partner. The two had History together immediately after Grimm Studies, so Ruby had at least 10 minutes to talk things over with Weiss. Thanks to her wondering with Jaune on the day she arrived, she knew the most direct path between the classes and caught up to Weiss after just a few seconds.

"Weiss! What is wrong with you? All-"

"What's wrong with me?! YOU are what's wrong with me. Our team happens to have the most experienced, strongest, and smartest people in our grade. So tell me how it is that a child who can't even control their own impulses gets to be the leader? You can't even plan to get up in time for class, so how are you going to plan out missions?"

Ruby can't even get a word in as Weiss continues to rant about every mistake Ruby has made in the three short days she's been here. By the time Weiss' chastising ends the two are at the door to their next class and Ruby's doing her best not to be seen crying on her first day of classes.

"Headmaster Ozpin made a mistake letting you into this school, let alone making you a team leader."

With that statement, Weiss walks through the door to the front of the room while Ruby stands in the doorway looking at the floor. After a few moments she decides to take a seat in the back corner where she's least likely to be noticed and rests her forehead on her forearms. At least with her hood up like this she can claim she can dismiss the tears as her being tired.

\- Weiss Schnee: 21 August 132 Post-Great War 10:00 AM-

 _Finally, class begins._

The start of class meant Weiss had something to focus on again, something she desperately needed right now. Every time her mind starts to wonder she keeps hearing the ceremony that announced teams and leaders. Her team coming up and being named RWBY after its leader just made her blood boil. It wasn't even the fact that Weiss wasn't elected leader that bothered her, she thought Blake would be just as good of a leader as her. Even Yang could be an arguable candidate, although Weiss would never follow Yang's orders, because she was the most skilled fighter of the group. Weiss was determined to find out what possessed the headmaster to choose the worst possible candidate to lead her team.

 _Probably during lunch, that will also give me a reason to get away from her for a few more hours._

The second lecture of the day begins as a tall, lanky man with round spectacles and spikey green hair begins talking much too quickly for a teacher. Weiss is happy for the intense class as it means she has no time to fall back into her previous train of thought.

The professor, Oobleck according to the syllabus, begins by introducing the basic grimm identification processes. They were put in place during the Great War as a way to quickly identify how heavy a military force was needed to move through specific areas. The information was used to map out safe trade routes and where colonies should be started when looking to expand.

Grimm rankings were done by letter grade between A+ and F. A single A+ level grimm was something that threatened to take out entire armies if faced directly. Over the past 150 years only a dozen A+ level grimm have been noted, and half of them were scouted competing for territory on a small island in the middle of the four continents. Grimm of F level are killable even for people without auras, and areas containing only F level grimm were usually cleared out so humans could build cities or trading outposts. E level grimm make up around half of all grimm, including almost everything within our very own emerald forest. As you go between levels grimm generally increase in size, intelligence, and age.

Beacon as a school expects first year students to be able to handle E level grimm with relative ease. Each year one of the goals for the teaching staff is to have their students able to handle one level higher of grimm alone by the end of the year. Even B level grim pose little threat to a Beacon alum. A level grimm still require teams to face, and A+ level grimm are still avoided at unless absolutely necessary to this day.

As Oobleck goes more in depth about the rating system of Grimm, Weiss realizes that their time in the Emerald forest was quite unusual and the performances of teams RWBY and JNPR were quite extraordinary for incoming students. Judging by his descriptions for nevermores and deathstalkers, the two teams RWBY and JNPR faced fit squarely in the middle of the D category, something people entering sophomore year were expected to fight in teams. Weiss knew those grimm were tougher than most had to face at initiation, but knowing the scale of the difference made her feel much better about the team she was in.

Weiss spent a large part of the rest of the day on the move. Weiss went to get lunch immediately after the lecture and took it with her to the roof of the building that contained the food court. She ate in silence there and then looked for the headmaster until her last lecture started. Luckily, Ruby didn't share the class with her so the two managed to avoid fighting, or even meeting for that matter, for the rest of the day.

When Weiss hadn't found the headmaster by sunset that day she settled for talking to the professor of her first class instead. She found the man just outside one of the buildings on the academic side and approached him hoping he could provide some insight, if not a direct answer.

"Professor Port, are you free right now?"

"I always have time for my students, Ms. Schnee. So tell me, what's on your mind?"

"I was hoping you could help me figure out how the headmaster chooses the leader of a team."

"So you think you should have been named leader of team RWBY."

…

"I do think I am most qualified for the leadership position, but I would be more accepting of the situation if even Blake were named leader."

"I'm sure even Ozpin understands that you are most fit for the position."

"They why didn't I get it?"

"I cannot speak directly for the Headmaster, but from what I know of him I would say it's because Ruby will gain the most of the position."

"Excuse me?"

"Beacon academy is a school, not a military. Our students don't go on missions to save the world or win wars; they do it to learn. I'm sure this isn't the last time Ozpin will make a decision you don't agree with. But I assure you, everything decision he makes is to the benefit his students."

Weiss takes a few minutes to think about what Professor Port says before realizing he's waiting for her response.

"Thank you. I think I understand a bit better now."

After spending a little while longer studying in the library and doing some light training in the arena, Weiss returns to her dorm for the first time since waking up. Thanks to her talk with Professor Port, Weiss has a new perspective on Ruby as a leader. If Ozpin wants to help Ruby grow by turning her into a great leader, then Weiss will make her into the best leader in Beacon. Weiss also finally gets to pay back Summer for saving her life this way, and Port's excuse will mean her father won't be on her back about it.

 _Everything will work out. I'll make sure of that._

Weiss opens the door to the room to notice the latter half of team RWBY already in bed while the leader is lying with her head down at her desk. Surprisingly, Ruby seems to have fallen asleep studying.

 _She must have taken what I said to heart. She'll make a better student than I thought._

Weiss gently shakes Ruby awake and puts the leader's books away while she groggily climbs into her bed. After putting everything away Weiss also climbs into bed and falls asleep relatively quickly.

\- Yang Xiao Long: 25 August 132 Post-Great War 5:00 PM-

"I swear, I'll pay for everything I use, I'll even clean up when I'm done! There won't be a single trace of me being there afterwards."

"Ms. Xiao Long, for the hundredth time, NO. I will not let you use the cafeteria kitchen to make personal meals. That area is off limits to all students. If you have specific dietary needs, I can let you talk with the chefs, but you cannot just waltz in and make your own meals."

"Come on Glynda! If I return everything to the way it was before, what does it matter if I went in? And it's not like I'm making a profit off the meals, I just want to make dinner for my team. There's nowhere else on campus to make food, and the only way to make your own meals in the city is buying an apartment."

"It's not about you making a profit or cleaning up. If I let one student make their own meals, everyone in the school will start begging to use the kitchen until the faculty can't even do their jobs. Also I am your Professor and your elder; you will refer to me as Professor Goodwitch, not Glynda."

"The cafeteria closes at 9:00 PM though right? How about this, I get to make meals once a week on Fridays, and only occupy the kitchen between nine and ten. I'll tell people I found a place off campus to cook so no one thinks I'm using the kitchen. I'll even clean everything up before leaving. And to top it off I swear on my kitchen privileges I will never refer to you as Glynda again."

Glynda pauses for a second to debate the brawler's deal. This is the most promising reaction Yang has gotten out of the older woman all week, making a wide smile start to spread across Yang's face. The fact that she's pausing means there is at least some possibility that Yang will be allowed to cook at Beacon.

 _I guess she's willing to go pretty far if it means I stop calling her Glynda._

While the cafeteria food has done well to provide well balanced meals for Yang, they lack the spice and variety that Yang has come to love from her own cooking. Plus, the act itself began to really grow on her, and she's been left with an itch to make her own meals for the latter half of the week.

"I will supervise you to make sure the kitchen is spotless when your finish and you must prove your abilities as a cook before I allow you to make something for your fellow students."

"No problem, whatever you want, I'll make it. Prepare to be amazed… Professor Goodwitch."

Yang left the office for probably the tenth time this week, finally victorious. She rushed back to her dorm room and threw open the door with a loud thud. From the bed to the right of the door a face glared at her from behind a book as her partner shows her displeasure for the sudden and loud interruption. Yang chooses to completely ignore the glare.

"Man, the other half of our team is never here when we need them, right Blake?"

"I've never needed them. And tell me, when was the last time you needed them?"

"Fair point. Are they both in the library again? And have they eaten yet?"

"I'm lying in bed reading a book. How would I know what they're doing? Text and ask them."

"Okay, I get it. No more slamming the door. No need to be all passive aggressive."

"Just like you got it the last four times… So what are you so excited about?"

"It's a surprise. But don't eat dinner and make sure you're in the room around ten tonight."

…

"You're terrible with surprises. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to reading."

 _Come on Blake, you're not even gonna try to find out what's for dinner? You could at least tell me what you do or don't want… I guess I'll have to wing it._

"All right, I'm gonna go get a workout in. If you want to spar drop by the combat building, I'll be there in around forty minutes after I run."

Yang steps into the bathroom to change into workout attire. She's about to leave when Blake stops her at the door.

"Don't forget to text Weiss and Ruby."

"Oh shit, thanks."

 _Dinner at ten in the dorm room. Tell Weiss._

After sending that short text to her sister, Yang turns on some of her favorite music and jogs out the door.

\- Team RWBY: 25 August 132 Post-Great War 10:00 PM-

"Why does that brute give us a time if she's not even going to make it by then?"

"Relax Weiss; I'm sure she'll be here any second now."

Weiss's hunger was starting to make her irritable as she wanted to eat dinner at 6:30 but was stopped at the insistence of her partner. It didn't help that Weiss's expectations for dinner were at an all-time low because the girl making it was prone to _catching fire…_ Ruby spent much of the last hour trying to calm Weiss down and ensure her that Yang is an excellent cook and the wait will be worth it. Blake had finished her homework early today assuming Yang wanted more than to just eat together and was now silently watching the scene with mild amusement from over the top of a book.

The cat faunus picked up on heavy footsteps coming down the hall that marked the approach of Yang well before she made it to the door. Realizing the blonde would likely have her hands full with the food; Blake opened the door partially so Yang wouldn't have to turn the knob. Within moments the blonde pushed the door the rest of the way and walked into the room. In one hand held a large metal pot and in the other was a cloth. She threw the cloth over to her partner and instructed her to lay it out across the floor. After the cloth was spread Yang put the large pot down and removed 4 smaller pots, putting one in front of each corner of the towel.

Inside the pots were four large servings of chicken alfredo with various vegetables inside and two garlic breadsticks resting on top of each. Yang pulled four drinks from the minifridge in their room and passed one to each girl as they sat before their meal. Because of her keen sense of smell, Blake was the first to notice the slight differences between each pot.

"Are all of these different? They're all chicken alfredo, but they aren't mixed and have slightly different smells."

"I'm surprised you noticed that quickly. I tried to make something specific for each one of you. Feel free to trade if you want to try each other's, and tell me if you want something different."

Yang says that, but it becomes quickly clear that no one has an interest in trying one of their teammate's meals. Ruby is tearing through hers so quickly that the other three are afraid of losing an arm while trying to take a bite. Blake had come to a conclusion that the inclusion of some seafood in hers made it absolutely perfect. And Weiss was sure that her dish was a lucky accident and her teammates would pale in comparison. Yang let a large smirk run across her face while she watched her teammates dig in with gusto. After around a minute of eating silently, Yang spoke up again.

"You know, I didn't make this meal so we could all eat silently then go our separate ways for the night. I realized throughout the week that I know next to nothing about Weiss or Blake and was hoping we could talk over dinner."

…

"All right," Weiss decided to break the now awkward silence, "What do you propose we talk about?"

"I dunno… hobbies maybe? Like as you guys just learned, I like to cook."

Ruby chimes in next. "I really like modding weapons… if you couldn't tell by my baby Crescent Rose."

"Went I'm not studying I tend to walk through gardens or play music and sing." Weiss says flatly before immediately going back to her food.

When the three turn to look at Blake, she simply points with her thumb over her shoulder to the stacks of books that holds Yang's bead above her own.

"Well that was exciting… I feel closer to you three than ever before." Weiss mocks Yang's idea in a sarcastic tone.

"Fine. How about everyone tells a story from their past? That outta tell everyone a thing or two about you."

"Oh Oh!" Ruby waves her hands in the air like a preschooler in class. Once everyone gives her their attention she continues. "Weiss should tell us the story about her scar! I bet it's an awesome battle wound!" Ruby looks over eagerly to Weiss, bouncing up and down with anticipation.

Weiss massages her forehead with her thumb and two fingers. "Could you have thought of a more rude way of asking? A self-conscious girl would have cried if she heard that."

Ruby bows her head in shame and mutters an apology and Blake and Yang try to hide their giggles at the childish reaction. After a deep breath Weiss agrees and begins to tell the story about how she fought to become a huntress.

When Weiss was five years old she was once saved from an attempted kidnapping by a huntress. She looked up to her savior and first desired to become a huntress because of the person. When she expressed her desire to her father, he instantly denied any possibility of her becoming a huntress. Weiss's father held absolute rule over the Schnee household, and when he made a decision, there was no argument against it. Weiss realized this and was forced to take a different approach.

She took up fencing less than a year after her denial. She only waited that long so her father wouldn't connect the hobby to her desire to be a huntress. Up until that time Weiss would spend her free time alone in the library, learning about aura, semblances, and grimm. Her father approved fencing as a hobby, likely only due to how it is viewed by higher class households, and hired and instructor. While her parents were home she would train with an epee and when they were gone she would work on her semblance. Almost every moment that wasn't spent readying her for taking over the Schnee Dust Company was spent working to become a huntress.

Weiss was given Myrtenaster as a reward for outperforming her first teacher and defeating him in a duel. With that victory she approached her father again speaking her desire to become a huntress. She argued that she was only twelve years old and defeating a grown man in a fight. Given a few years of specialized training she could be one of the greatest fighters in Vale. After a few days of deliberation, her father told her that he would allow her entrance into a specialized school if she perfected her swordplay. He said the skills would become necessary for protecting herself from white fang attacks in the future. He obviously still had no intention for her to actually become a huntress.

A new trainer was brought in and began to duel her daily. It took weeks for Weiss to earn her first victory against the new trainer, but that wasn't the end of her training. Her father told her she would not be done until she managed to get 3 flawless victories in a row. She fought the same man for almost a year before meeting her father's conditions, but even that wasn't enough for him.

Next were fights with a new trainer that used real weapons, dust, and semblances. The first few months of training were the most painful experiences of her life, often just lying where she was dropped in a fight with broken bones and gashes all over. Some of the days went entirely without fights because she needed time to recover. Her aura was able to repair any surface damage before scarring occurred, but the bones and muscles took longer to heal.

It was over this time that Weiss began to despise her father. She had never looked up to him or adored him as a person, but this is when her distaste became outright disdain. He couldn't just deny his daughter's dream; he had to put her through a never ending hell so she would give up on the dream herself. His actions weren't out of care for his child, or he would never make her fight basically to the death. He gave her this opportunity as a punishment for trying to stray from his path.

Her spite for her father urged Weiss on, however long it took. Years passed by and Weiss met a half dozen of her father's demands, each with a different teacher and more extreme rules. Finally, just last winter, her father announced his final task. There was an old prototype autonomous guard her father owned. It was essentially a seven foot suit of armor wielding a broadsword. He set it up in the auditorium next to the main building in the Schnee manor. Her father told her that she could apply for Beacon academy if she is able to defeat it on her first try. Weiss entered the auditorium fully believing that she would either win or die trying.

From the start of the fight it was obvious that Weiss was at a disadvantage. The suit of armor was relatively slow, but Myrtenaster bounced off of it like nothing. The strikes failed to make the armor flinch even once. Even when she hit between plates, where it should be weakest, there was no reaction. All she succeeded in doing while on the attack is tire herself and leave small openings for the armor to attack.

There was only three times where Weiss couldn't avoid the armor's attacks. The first was a horizontal slash blocked by her rapier, sending a shockwave through her arms so badly that they were paralyzed for a few seconds afterwards and she had to purely run. The second was a sucker punch with the hand not holding the sword that cracked at least a couple ribs. The third was an almost vertical strike that barely grazed her left eye. In the small pause after the hit landed, Weiss saw a reflection of herself in the armor. It was the first time she saw a blemish on her normally smooth and symmetrical face. Something about the image spoke to her; she saw the blemish as proof of her fight against her father's idea of perfection. Instead of healing the wound with her aura like normal, Weiss only repaired her eye, leaving the wound to bleed and eventually scar.

After a battle that felt like an eternity, Weiss defeated the armor by changing her semblance usage. She had recently learned about techniques combining dust with a person's semblance, altering its usage slightly. Weiss realized after that she was using ice dust with her Glyphs to create platforms to walk on or traps to hold something in place. She tried using wind dust with her semblance for the first time that fight and managed to make repulsion glyphs.

After a short time testing the power of repulsion glyphs Weiss managed to use the new form of her semblance to redirect her opponent's attacks. She baited the armor into making a diagonal slash that she's seen many times that fight. Weiss knew this strike well as it left the biggest opening afterwards due to the weight put into the strike. She also noticed that the blade landed dangerously close to the armor's left foot when it missed.

While the strike was in motion Weiss set up a repulsion glyph on the left side of the armor and pushed the blade inward while it was mid-flight. The strike ended up taking off the left leg of the armor from the knee down, throwing the armor off balance and tumbling to the ground.

With the armor lying flat against the ground, Weiss got enough surface area to freeze it in place, cementing her victory and earning the right to apply for beacon from her father.

"Even after the battle ended I refused to heal the scar with my aura, and that's how it ended up looking like this. It's one of the few things I truly consider mine, so I wear it with pride."

Weiss finished her story and was met with dead silence. The three teammates sitting around her were wide eyed and two sisters' jaws would hit the floor if they fell any lower.

"Well, I've told you my story, isn't someone else supposed to go now?" Weiss didn't know how to feel about her story after seeing her teammate's reactions, so she tries to just move on instead of starting an argument over her story's legitimacy during dinner.

"No one wants to follow a story like that! It'll just make us look bad! How are we supposed to compare to killing the terminator?" Yang is talking quite loudly out of either excitement over the story or frustration at leading off with what was probably the best. Weiss was relieved that the blonde wasn't questioning the story, but now mildly annoyed at the new reaction.

"It wasn't a terminator. It was an early prototype of fully automated bodyguards. I bet any of you three could beat it if your life depended on it too. It was mostly easy to dodge; I just didn't have the power to get through its armor."

"I thought nothing could top how Ruby got into Beacon, but that story is giving it one hell of a run for its money, princess."

Weiss gets angry at the term Yang chose to address her by and the two start to devolve into another argument. It never ceases to amaze Ruby and Blake how those two can go from compliments to fighting in one sentence. Deciding to ignore them, Blake asks Ruby what Yang meant by the 'how Ruby got into Beacon.'

"And it was all like _whoosh_ , and _blam!_ And the guy goes flying out the window and it's all like-"

Yang and Weiss' argument comes to a halt as both silently watch and increasingly heated Ruby go over the night she was accepted into beacon. As the story went on the number of words fell drastically, replaced by ridiculous hand motions and unnecessary sound effects. Yang was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing while Weiss simply put her hands on her temples and shook her head. Blake sat without giving away any emotion as Ruby reenacted the entire fight, ending in a signature superhero pose that put Yang over the top.

"You forgot to mention the part where Glynda chews you out because your antics completely ruined an undercover mission and the unnecessary collateral damage caused by the fight was worse than what the robbers were planning." Weiss added in after taking a moment to ensure Ruby wasn't planning on telling the second half of her story.

"Wait, am I the only one who didn't already know this story?" Blake was completely unfazed by Ruby's story-telling, her current curiosity being the only emotion her face has shown the past few minutes.

"She's spent a lot more time with me than you two this whole week, so it's not that surprising." Weiss reveals that her and Ruby shared stories in their free time, often while walking around campus.

"-Kay Blake, now that you don't have to live up to Weiss's story, you're up next!" Yang finally recovered from her laughing fit and was now kneeling right beside her seated partner, arm around her neck and faces just inches apart.

Blake was about to argue that Yang could have been next, but both Ruby and Weiss seemed much more interested after what Yang said, so she figured there was no point in arguing. The only problem was what to tell them. She had a few good stories, like her last mission with Adam or how she got the money to pay for beacon, but they also gave away the fact that she was not only a faunus, but also a member of the White Fang. Blake looked off into the distance while she continued to rummage through her memories for something she could present.

"Give us anything; surely you have some story to share." Weiss was getting impatient as Blake couldn't seem to find a story she was comfortable telling.

"Yeah, it doesn't have to be really cool. Just tell us some random vacation story or something." Ruby chimed in with a much softer tone, trying to reassure Blake.

"I've never had a vacation, or even celebrated holidays. I guess I never mentioned it but I grew up in an orphanage and they didn't really have the means to give us big celebrations."

"REALLY! You've gone your whole life without having _any_ celebrations? Surely you've at least had a birthday party?" Ruby was shocked at the very thought that someone could go without any holidays for over a decade.

"I grew up in a poor area, we never had the money to afford cakes or gifts."

 _Although it wouldn't matter since not even I know my real birthday._

Blake kept the extra reason to herself, as she doesn't want the pity that inevitably will come after saying it.

"Then how'd you pay for beacon? This is one of the more expensive schools in the country, so it should be impossible for you to get here." Weiss chimes in this time, with the obvious follow up question. Blake had just the excuse for dodging that one.

"I've done physical labor for years, worked all but full time and self-taught in my free time. I had enough saved up for this semester and was planning on working again over winter."

"And you have no good stories from any of your jobs even?" With Yang's question each of Blake's teammates have now asked something she can't directly answer because it would tie her to the white fang.

"It was really boring, what can I say."

"Then make something up for all I care! Just stop making us play twenty questions with you. It's getting really fucking annoying!" Weiss hands were in the air and she was yelling in her frustration. Her initial desire to know more about Blake, the person she thinks most highly of in team RWBY, now almost completely gone thanks to the girl's dodgy attitude.

Ruby was starting to worry another fight would break out, and with good reason. Blake could feel warmth emanating from the spot beside her, where Yang was ready to blow up on Weiss for how she was acting. Blake takes the first story that pops into her head and begins to talk so the two don't have time to start yelling.

\- Blake Belladonna: 14 July 123 Post-Great War 4:30 PM-

Blake had always been an introverted child and at her orphanage there were only three good ways for children to spend their time there. The first was the most obvious, playing games with the other kids. While Blake was one of the more agile kids at the orphanage she was never interested in tag or soccer and preferred to free-run when she wanted to move around. The second was watching television, but there was only one for the kids to use. She preferred to avoid the conflict over what to watch and rarely watched because of it. The third was to read.

From the first moment she understood what was written in the books Blake spent almost every free moment reading. The books allowed her reprieve from the world she found herself in. She wasn't a talkative person and hated crowds as is, so being forced to live with around a dozen kids in a house built for _maybe_ six was suffocating. With a book she was able to go to a secluded corner of a room, shut out the rest of the building, and be alone for a while. Reading quickly became her favorite hobby for this reason.

By the time she was eight she was sure that she had been through every book in the building at least once, most of them more than that. Each time she reread a story it would lose some of its pull and she wouldn't be able to shut out others as well. It got to the point where she was reading through textbooks for older kids just to pass the time.

Her best, and probably only, friend in the orphanage noticed Blake's disappointment and came to her with an idea.

"Blake! I couldn't help but notice you're reading the same old fairy tale for the fourth time now."

"It's the best story here."

"But four times? Surely you've got to be bored of it by now."

"I'm bored of every book here, Adam."

"Well, I've been to where the adults live, and they have a whole lot more books there. If you want, I could take you there tonight and we could grab a few."

There was a devious gleam in her friend's eyes, thrilled at getting back into the adults house. Despite knowing how Adam would respond, Blake still questioned Adam about breaking the rule and going into the caretaker's building.

"You know it's against the rules for people under thirteen to enter the adult house."

 _Nothing's against the rules if you don't get caught._

Blake heard the words a thousand times from Adam, and was repeating them in her head as they came out of his mouth. At least now she knew why he specified tonight rather than now or tomorrow. For a while she pondered the idea. She didn't object to going against the rules, as she traveled much farther from the home than she was ever supposed to. And she wasn't given any money to spend on books or library cards, so as far as risk/reward ratios go, this was by far the best she had. When she realized her only other option was going four years with the same books she had now, she decided to tag along.

It was not long past eleven when she met with Adam that night. She was around ten minutes late because she needed to change from her pajamas since they didn't give her enough freedom of movement. When she met Adam downstairs he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, barely keeping himself grounded as to not wake anyone while still showing his excitement. Blake had usually refused his appeals for them to do something against the rules so he must have been very excited to have a partner in crime.

"Took you long enough. I was about to leave without you."

"Why would you even go over there without me? You said we'd go to find books."

"I'd explore. I'll be thirteen soon and I wanna know all about that building. Don't worry though, I'll stay with you until you're safe back here."

"Whatever, let's just go."

Blake reaches to unlock the door but is stopped when Adam reaches out and grabs her arm.

"Not that way. Everyone knows to lock the door after curfew so if anyone sees it and locks it we wouldn't be able to get back in."

"Who would see it?"

"I dunno, some kid who wants a midnight snack or something."

Blake shakes her head and followed Adam as he moved for a window as far away from the kitchen as possible. Blake thought the extra effort isn't necessary but she decided to leave the planning to the experienced one.

They left the building through the window and Adam made sure to close it behind him. It was only a minute to get between buildings as the adults lived just a few houses down the street. Adam slowly circled the building while keeping an eye out for any of the adults that may still be awake. Eventually he reached a window near the back door and slowly pushed it up. He offered a boost for Blake who ignored it completely while jumping through. Adam followed seconds after and they found themselves in the entrance to a rather large living room.

Adam and crouched low and signaled for Blake to follow him. The pair moved at a snail's pace while keeping on high alert so they would know if anyone was moving near them. After going down a set of stairs and navigating a few corridors they arrived at a set of double wooden doors.

Through the doors laid a room the size of one of the floors at Blake and Adam's building. All around the walls were shelves filled with books and every table had at least ten different ones as well. It might as well be a library with how much they kept. Adam said He'd keep watch while Blake finds some things she likes. She sped between the books and quickly realized a vast majority of the selection were impossible for her to read, the first pages looking like little more than gibberish. Blake decided to collect the first book in each section of the library that she could understand. When she had around a dozen books, she began to make her way back to Adam so they could leave.

When she reached the doorway she heard a noise just outside as the door opened. Adam stood completely still and Blake took shelter behind him, standing perfectly in his shadow so the one who opened the door didn't notice the second person.

"What're you doing down here kid? You even old enough to be here?"

"I'm fresh thirteen, and I wanted to get a feel for the place, so I was exploring." Adams response was casual and immediate, like he was practicing for this moment.

"Just turned thirteen? We didn't have an initiation recently."

"I turned thirteen all of 7 minutes ago, and couldn't contain my excitement, so I kinda came in through a window." Adam scratched the back of his head and gives off a small chuckle.

"Whatever kid, don't let anyone else find you. And none of the books leave the room, got it?"

"Got it. Thanks."

When the footsteps can be heard on the staircase Adam turns and gives a hundred watt grin and barely stifles his laughter. Blake lets out the breath she was holding in and tells him to grab half the books so they can go.

\- Team RWBY: 25 August 132 Post-Great War 11:40 PM-

"Turns out most of the books at the 'adult house' were combat instruction or textbooks. I learned a lot about hunters and huntresses from them and self-taught so I could be like them some day."

After a short while of nothing, Weiss is the first to speak up.

"Great, I have a child, an idiot, and a delinquent as partners. You were my last hope Blake, how could you fail me like this."

"Dude, she stole _books_. She stole them to teach herself well enough to reach one of the top prep schools on the continent. That is not a delinquent. That's an honors student."

Yang's reply got a chuckle out of Ruby and Blake while Weiss looked down and shook her head. Yang wasn't fooled though and made sure to comment that even Weiss was smiling. Blake was initially worried that Weiss would be on her case about breaking rules but was happy to see her team didn't mind. She began to debate telling the group about her ears and keeping them a secret but before she came to a decision the group had already moved on.

"Oh Yang! You should _totally_ tell the story about how you met Zwei!"

"Really Ruby? This was your one chance to hear a story I've been hiding from you and you choose to hear the one about Zwei again?"

"Not like any truthful story would beat _that."_

"Who's Zwei?" Weiss cuts in with an obvious question seeing as Blake appears fine with just observing the sisters' banter.

"He's our pet!" Ruby beams proudly after her response.

"Also the biggest badass you'll ever meet."

"YANG! Don't spoil the story!"

"It's not spoiling, it's just getting people excited. The key to getting people's attention is a good hook."

"Worked this time." Blake responds this time, looking at Yang with her head tilted slightly, showing her interest in the subject.

"All right, it happened a little over a year ago..."

\- Yang Xiao Long: 13 June 131 Post-Great War 12:30 PM-

The Xiao Long Family is not the most financially successful one, for obvious reasons. Our father was a single hunter working to feed 3 mouths, and there was little cash for goods in our household. Our father barely had the money to provide food, shelter, and education, so we generally found summer jobs to pay for anything other than the essentials.

Yang found a job in the heart of Patch, as it was the best place to meet people and hear all the news around town. Her job was at an animal shelter in town, where she would usually need to drive over town taking dogs from unfit or missing owners, as well as taking in strays if there were reports of one. The job was perfect for Yang as she had a knack for getting animals to like her, and it paid really well, allowing her to afford a used motorcycle that she wanted. The place was open and paying well because it turns out animals with bad or non-existent owners tend to attack people… a lot.

Yang was given a report of a small stray dog deep in the south side of town. Yang's gotten to know this area well as it tends to house the less savory people of the city, as well as many unfit pet owners. Yang had to make use of her boxing lessons and huntress training on more than one occasion down there, and not just because of violent animals. She parked her recently fixed and painted black and yellow motorcycle, Bumblebee, in a parking lot next to a park. She takes two heavy duty steel bike locks and attaches one to each wheel, connecting them to a fence surrounding a basketball court. She just got the bike a few weeks ago and would take every precaution to make sure it doesn't get stolen.

After spending around a half hour of navigating back alleyways looking for the elusive stray Yang overhears some yelling from a few blocks down along with dogs barking.

"Kill that fucking thing already!"

"That piece of shit won't steal my food after today!"

The barking that followed made Yang certain that the soon to be victim of the men was the stray she was sent to get.

 _No shit it's stealing food, how else will it eat. If you really wanted it gone, take it to a fucking shelter, where it'll get fed._

Yang picks up the pace and enters turns the corner to face the alley where the voices came from. She immediately notices two men, no doubt the two yelling earlier. Both of them look to be in their twenties, well built, and carrying some large blunt object. Up against the building next to them sat two other men, a bit smaller than the two standing. One was sitting up against the wall pressing his hand over his left cheek and the other was laid out apparently unconscious. Between the men and her stood one corgi with black and white fur, standing around a foot tall.

The closer of the two standing men approached the dog with a wooden baseball bat over his head and swung down hard. The bat hit the ground with a loud cracking sound while the corgi managed to leap to the side and run up the man's arm. After reaching the man's shoulder he proceeds to lick the inside of the man's ear and bark once without moving his head.

The now enraged man wildly swings his bat over his right shoulder as the dog make's a quick aerial retreat. The bat whiffs on the dog and proceeds to connect with the second man who was charging forward at the same time. The hurt man lets out a loud shriek and falls to the ground gripping his right arm with his left.

The last standing man recovered from his surprise at breaking his partner's arm, the corgi charges forward and collides directly with the man's chest while moving at top speed. The man flies back a few feet before connecting with a brick wall. He slides down to a sitting position and groans in pain while holding one hand on his back and the other on his head.

The dog approaches a stunned Yang and lowers his front half playfully while panting.

"Easy there, I'm not here to hurt you."

Yang holds out one open hand while leaning in to try scratching the dog's head. When it gets close the corgi lifts one of his front paws and smacks the open hand before turning his head back to Yang's face expectantly.

"Did you just give me a high five?"

* **bark** *

The response came immediately after Yang finishes.

"What, you act like you know English too?"

* **bark** *

"Fine, I'll test you. Let me hold you."

Yang crouches down, holding her arms cradled in front of her chest for the dog to jump into. He immediately obliges and Yang is left with her jaw dropped. While making her way back to her bike, Yang continuously gave obscure commands and each time the dog followed perfectly. While on the way back to the shelter she asked without thinking.

"So what's you name buddy?"

* **bark** * **bark** *

"Right, I don't speak dog. What are two barks supposed to mean?"

Yang reached the shelter and walked in without even leashing the dog, much to the surprise of the other staff there. She approaches one of the senior members across the room that turned when she heard the door open.

"You won't believe how smart this dog is. Watch." Yang turns her attention towards the corgi. "Hey, bark once for every dog in this room."

The corgi proceeds to perfectly follow the order, leaving Yang's coworker wide eyed and slack jawed.

"Now go over to the one you wanna bang." Yang whispers barely loud enough for the older girl to hear. Zwei rushes over to a female corgi with a light brown and white coat of fur. Yang's coworker is much less impressed this time around.

"Just like you to find a smart dog and immediately corrupt it. So, it's a stray without a name, so got any ideas?"

"I asked him on the way back and he barked twice, I don't speak dog though."

A faunus man with webbed frog feet yells from the back where animals are trained, overhearing the conversation.

"How about Zwei?"

* **bark** *

After getting Yang's attention with the bark the dog shakes it head up and down.

"Zwei? How'd you get that from two barks?" Yang shouts back.

"It's from an old language before Vale united. It was the word for two."

\- Team RWBY: 26 August 132 Post-Great War 12:00 AM-

"No matter how many times I tried to ditch him at the shelter he'd find his way back to my house, so we eventually just kept him." Yang finished her story rather abruptly since the good part is over.

…

Yang is met with a pair of cynical stares from the two she's just recently met. Yang looks over towards Ruby for an explanation but the youngest of the group only tilts her head and shrugs. After sighing in disappointment, Weiss gives Blake one last glance before explaining to the clueless girls.

"Yang, that story is completely ludicrous. Did you really expect us to believe any of that?"

"You do tend to exaggerate stories, Yang." Blake voices her agreement.

"But it's all true! Even Ruby can vouch for me!"

"Yeah! Zwei's the smartest animal I've ever met!"

"Ruby, Yang's been a terrible influence on you. The story you told me earlier this week has a ton of inconsistencies with the one you told Blake."

And once again, Yang and Weiss devolve into an argument. This time over Yang's influence on Ruby and her own integrity. Blake and Ruby decide to ignore their partners' dispute and talk about the books that are currently being read by Blake. Ruby never had a lot of money to spend on books and didn't hesitate to tap into Blake's collection once Blake gave her the okay.

Every once in a while the calmer pair would check on the two that still seemed locked in argument. Ruby was worried the argument would turn violent and was only keeping somewhat calm because Yang's semblance hadn't kicked in meaning the room was relatively safe from her fury. Blake on the other hand looked more closely at the arguing pair and noticed that they seemed to be enjoying themselves. The heiress wasn't wearing her normal scowl and instead had a devious yet playful smirk. As for the blonde she had the same shit-eating grim that always seems to be on the more carefree member's face. Blake saw no harm in letting them go as they seemed more likely to fall into a fit of laughter than violence at this rate.

Ruby noticed Blake staring at the other duo and spoke her mind.

"I don't even get how they grew to hate each other so much."

"We don't hate each other-"

"We don't hate each other-"

…

Weiss and Yang stopped dead in the middle of their argument and both instantly replied to Ruby's comment. Ruby was left completely speechless for a few seconds feeling like she was just told the sky isn't blue.

"But… But… You always argue like that…"

"It's fun messing with her." Yang's reply was about what Ruby expected. Yang always did love getting under people's skin. Weiss's response left her quite surprised though.

"It's a good way to let off steam. There wasn't much room for arguments at home."

"Awww… I'm making up for your daddy neglecting you. How cute."

"Yes I'm sure you'll make a great father someday, Yang."

"Then since we all seem to get along," Ruby gets everyone's attention before the banter begins again. "How about we make Fridays team building days? We seem to spend most of our week in just pairings so we should put aside Friday nights for all four of us."

"Fine, but next time I'm choosing what we do."

"No way am I letting you take me to some opera house or some shit, ice queen."

"We'll rotate. We'll go me, Weiss, Blake, than Yang. Just like in the team name."

…

"Did you even listen to my story? I nearly died in an auditorium. What if the idea triggered PTSD or something?"

With Weiss and Yang done listening, and Blake's obvious apathy towards how the events were handled, it became settled. Ruby sat down next to Blake to just watch the argument continue for a short time before wondering if Blake minds reading in here.

"If you wanna go to the library or something I'll come along."

"Nah, I got all the entertainment I need right here."


	4. Ch 3: A Summer We'll Never Forget

**Chapter 3: A Summer We'll Never Forget**

\- Ruby Rose: 18 September 132 Post-Great War 1:11 AM-

Ruby turns over in bed again, facing the wall beside her rather than the center of the room. With the movement comes a rustling of sheets and creaking of her bed as it sways side to side like a hammock. Since the room is dead silent each noise Ruby makes gives her goosebumps and sends a shiver down her spine. She lays stalk still for a few seconds after realizing her movements may have woken her teammates. However, the slow steady breathing from the other two people in the room confirms that Ruby is still safe of the tired wrath of Blake or Weiss. When it was just Yang it was fine since she rarely went to sleep before witching hour anyway. And when the brawler did sleep, there was no way short of grabbing her hair to wake her up.

Due to the rigorous schedule one perfectionist partner had put on her; Ruby had completely stopped paying attention to the night cycle. The first full moon since Ruby had arrived at beacon was tonight and Ruby had climbed into her top bunk bed above the partner in question thinking she would read until she slept.

That was at ten last night.

For the past hour Ruby has been tossing and turning, trying to fix the dilemma she accidentally put herself in. She wanted to go out and run around for a few hours to tire out her body and mind, but getting out of the bed ran a big risk of waking up the girl sleeping below her. Ruby realized over the past few weeks that Weiss is by far the lightest sleeper Ruby ever met, often being woken up simply because she heard the bed Ruby sleeps in creak. And when she did get woken up by Ruby moving around in her bed, a fury Ruby wouldn't wish upon the worst grimm would assail her from the disheveled fencer.

That left her where she is now, tossing and turning to try and get comfortable enough to sleep. After about ten repetitions of turning, holding her breath, and then sighing in relief, Ruby realizes she's just as likely to wake Weiss by moving around in her bed as she is by jumping down at this point.

The softest thud of feet against carpet and more creaking from the bed now above Ruby complimented her dismount. The team leader stayed motionless in her crouched position with her eyes fixed on her partner sleeping just a couple feet away from her. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Ruby confirmed that she miraculously didn't wake Weiss and now was home free.

After picking up Crescent Rose Ruby reaches for the doorknob before deciding to turn and open the window on the opposite wall instead. The door has been known to squeak, probably thanks to her sister nearly breaking the thing every time she returns to the room, and the lights are probably on outside the room in case students are getting back from their Sunday night activities still.

The window opened silently and Ruby jumped out, making a three point landing out of the four story fall.

 _Not only does it look cool, three point landings FEEL cool._

The young leader's eyes narrow and her mouth breaks into a large smile as she imagines looking at herself in the same pose as her favorite superheroes after doing some sweet aerial maneuvers. Just the thought made her want to squeal like a fangirl but waking all the students in the dorm building just after making her great escape didn't seem like a good idea. Instead she decided to get started with her fun night out and made a beeline for the emerald forest.

Through constant use of her semblance the trip that took a good fifteen minutes walking with Yang on the day of initiation barely took seconds tonight. In the blink of an eye Ruby was standing at the top of beacon cliffs, looking overtop the trees that signaled the start of the emerald forest and into the seemingly gigantic silver orb resting in the sky. A slight growl started escaping Ruby's mouth and the desire to yell at the top of her lungs kept getting larger and larger.

After taking one last look to make sure Beacon Academy dorms were far enough away Ruby leaped off the cliff and let out one of the most satisfying screams of her entire life.

"wohoooOOOO **OOOOO**!"

As the sound went on the noise coming from the girl's throat became more beastlike. After a second or two it was almost indistinguishable from the beowolves that howled in response to the call. The responses made Ruby's eyes light up as the weapon that took a back seat up until now finally made an appearance. The six foot long sniper/scythe-combo deployed completely in seconds and a round was fired off instantly to send Ruby in the direction of the nearest call.

 _It's felt like forever since I've done this._

\- Weiss Schnee: 18 September 132 Post-Great War 1:52 AM-

A slight breeze ruffles the sheets of Weiss' bed. The bed's owner shivers as the breeze gently tickles her spine and the sheets gently rub against her skin. Even without dreams haunting her, the world still finds ways to keep Weiss from getting a full night's rest.

The heiress turns over in her bead and checks her scroll sitting on the nightstand beside her. Her face contorts into a disgusted expression upon realizing it's almost two in the morning when she woke up. She quickly scans the room to locate the origin of her disturbance, taking note of the room around her.

She starts by looking over to the bunk beds on the opposite wall. Yang tended to arrive at the dorm long after the rest of the team has fallen asleep, so it wouldn't be surprising if her arrival was what woke Weiss. But the bed was still empty, and the bathroom light off, so the blonde must not have arrived yet. Under Yang's bed laid a sleeping Blake, who was so quiet Weiss couldn't even hear her breathing, even with her ears strained. Lastly, she looked straight up at the hanging deathtrap above her. The bed her partner slept in was completely still…

 _Completely still? Ruby moves more when she sleeps than when she's awake._

In the month Weiss has spent sleeping beneath that deathtrap, she's learned that it endlessly rocks and creeks at night. The bed's sounds and movements at night have the heiress convinced it will kill her while she sleeps someday. However it currently lies completely silent and still.

Weiss gets up from her bed and checks her partner's. As she suspected, it was missing its owner, the covers thrown around and pillows on the ground. Weiss double checks that the bathroom light is off and wonders where Ruby has gone. The door is much too loud and would have woken the heiress for sure, so Weiss determines the currently open window was her most likely escape route, as well as the reason she was woken up tonight.

Weiss sticks her head slightly out the window and looks around as best she can, which isn't much due to the low lighting. There is no sign of Ruby in the immediate area so she must have left more than a few minutes ago at least.

 _There's no way I'll find her without any clues in the middle of the night. I guess I'll just talk to her tomorrow about it._

Just as Weiss moves to close the window she hears a quiet but distinct echo. The sound of wolves howling comes from the direction of beacon cliff, no doubt from the mouths of the countless beowolves living there.

 _She wouldn't…_

The heiress turns to look at Ruby's desk, or more specifically, to the side of it. Normally, Ruby's most valuable possession would be laying with its blade on the ground and its handle resting between the desk and the wall. Ruby was one of the very few students that kept her weapon with her rather than in the weapon lockers, preferring to have it by her side at all times. Currently, Crescent Rose is missing, just like its owner.

 _Of course she would…_

Weiss lets out a deep sigh and pulls a combat dress out from her closet, quickly changing before reopening the window and jumping out. She starts moving at a fast jogging pace towards the weapon lockers to retrieve her rapier.

 _I swear... she's going to get herself killed one of these days…_

\- Ruby Rose: 18 September 132 Post-Great War 2:30 AM-

A thin black cloud moves from above a clearing in the woods. The fallen branches and destroyed bushes are the only signs of battle as the bodies of grimm simply evaporate when the beasts are killed. While Ruby never really cared that grimm evaporated, she was quite glad they did tonight. The girl had either killed or chased off every low level grimm in around a hundred yard radius, completely convinced that the scenery would be perfect without the annoying beasts. It was a relatively large clearing with a body of water near the middle.

 _Would I call it a large pond? Maybe a really small lake? It's nowhere near the size of what I see on maps of Vale but it's bigger than any pond in Patch's forest… We need another word for bodies of water._

Ruby's mind wondered between pointless topics as she used the backstroke to swim in circles. While her thoughts were far from the grimm infested forest she was currently in, Ruby made sure her ears were always above water in case something decided to wonder over. She also stayed close to the shoreline where she jumped in, because she didn't want any grimm trying to take her two most cherished possessions that were left there. If it hadn't been for the weight of her Crescent Rose, Ruby probably would be swimming with her weapon. As for the cloak, Ruby thought it would make a good towel… and that it could keep her baby company.

So Ruby decided to swim in just her pajamas, settling for looking up every once in a while to make sure everything was where she left it, and keeping listening for any intruders.

 _Maybe I should ask Weiss if there's a word for this-_

 _*Snap*_

The sound of twigs breaking marked something's approach, jolting Ruby out of her idle thoughts. With the activation of her semblance Ruby ran atop the water and was on the shoreline instantly. She quickly donned her cloak and readied her weapon without taking her eyes off the tree line a dozen yards away. After waiting a few seconds on high alert a figure emerged that caused Ruby's eyes to widen and jaw to drop.

"What the HELL are you doing at this hour?!"

Dressed in her pure white combat attire and sporting her weapon of choice, Myrtenaster; Weiss emerges from the tree line with her signature scowl as she stares down her partner.

\- Weiss Schnee: 18 September 132 Post-Great War 2:52 AM-

"Weiss?! I thought you were still asleep! I didn't mean to wake you! I was as quiet as possible! I was only gonna be out a sec, I-I-"

 _Enough of this._

The rest of Ruby's apology is cut off by Weiss forcing her hand over Ruby's mouth.

"I don't need your apologies, just tell me: What could have possibly possessed you to come out into the middle of a grimm infested forest at two in the morning?"

"I… just get really restless on nights like tonight."

"Like tonight? I've slept in the same room as you for almost a month now and you haven't done this once. What's so special about tonight?"

Ruby mumbled some incoherent babble while trying to avoid eye contact before weakly pointing above her.

"What is that- oh? Ohhhh…" Weiss cuts off her own sentence after noticing the full moon lighting up the night sky. The heiress takes a deep breath and begins to question her again, although in a much calmer tone.

"Do all wolf faunus act like this?"

Ruby's ears shoot up, no doubt noticing the drastic change in tone. The team leader peeks at Weiss from under her hood.

"There are a few… tendencies… that faunus can pick up. Generally they get one, maybe two of them. So while it's not uncommon, not all wolf faunus get restless under a full moon." Ruby stumbles over her words a few times while making sure the faunus don't appear as mere animals.

"So I assume you've had this… habit… all your life, haven't you found another, safer, way to deal with it?"

"It's sort of the other way around." Ruby responds with a slight chuckle while rubbing the back of her head, "Mom and uncle Qrow first taught me to fight so I could go out and do this. It's hard to hold down the urge and I'll feel terrible if I do."

"But do you have to go into a forest and fight grimm every time?"

"Well… no. Most nights back in patch I'd run into town instead. But tonight I really wanted to go explore the forest like I did before Mom…" Ruby rapidly tailed off when the topic approached her mother.

 _Died? Or just Disappeared?_

Weiss remembers wondering if Ruby even knew her mother was dead, and decided to press the issue slightly, despite the discomfort it might give Ruby.

"I won't force you to tell me, but I am curious about what happened to your mother."

Ruby slumped and her eyes returned to the ground, but she still whispered the answer Weiss was searching for.

"I'm not sure… She left on a mission and…" Ruby failed to say anything else aloud, barely mouthing another word. Weiss gave Ruby a small, comforting hug and tried to calm her partner.

"It's fine. You don't have to tell me more. I'll wait until you're ready." Ruby quickly regained her composure and gently pushed herself out of Weiss' arms.

"More importantly, I'm feeling a lot calmer after swimming for a bit, and I'm sure you need to get some sleep, so let's just head back now kay?"

At the mention of sleep Weiss realizes how heavy her body feels and agrees. She turns around to begin the trek back but Ruby appears a few inches in front of her before she moves two steps.

"It'll take you a solid half hour to make that walk back to the room, maybe more. I'll carry you and we can be back in less than a minute." Ruby gives Weiss a wide smile before turning around and crouching in front of her.

Weiss was caught off guard and didn't know how to react, her body taking it's time processing the event due to her exhaustion. Eventually Ruby turned around and tilted her head before speaking again.

"Would you prefer I do a bridal carry? I can do that too although I need to slow down a bit to make sure your legs don't cr-"

"That's not necessary! I can walk back myself and I don't need you getting worked up again by running back."

"Ah. Don't worry about that, I probably carried more than your weight in books back home the day I met Glynda and that walk was wayyyyyy longer than this. Trust me, I'll be fine."

 _I am pretty tired… And she probably lugs more than my weight every day with that weapon… oh what the hell._

After a sigh, Weiss accepts Ruby's offer and climbs on her back. Within a minute the two are climbing the stairs in their dorm.

"Ruby. I know you're strong and can handle yourself in the forest. But please, don't go out there alone again. You never know when your cape will get pinned by a nevermore."

"Alright, alright. I'll avoid the forest." Ruby gives a small smile as she opens the door back to team RWBY's dorm and enters.

"Sneaking out past bedtime with another person? Is there something you should be telling me, sis?"

Weiss barely acknowledges the heckling from Yang or Ruby's frantic, embarrassed response. She just walks directly over to her bead and falls down onto it, instantly falling asleep.

\- Ruby Rose: 27 September 132 Post-Great War 2:52 PM-

"Ruuuuubyyyyy… Helllooooooo… anyone home?"

A small nudge finally breaks Ruby's daze, snapping her to attention as she nearly falls out of her seat in the back of the classroom. After regaining her balance Ruby turns to face Jaune Arc, the only friend she had in the remedial dust class.

 _Honestly, if it hadn't been for that 1 accident I wouldn't even be in this class._

Ruby frowns to herself as she thinks about her first run in with Weiss Schnee and the explosion that made teachers transfer her from the average freshman dust classes into the remedial one.

"Woah, sorry about interrupting your doodling, but class is kinda over."

"Huh? Oh! I wasn't frowning at you, just a… bad memory."

"Craterface?"

"Craterface."

"At least your nickname didn't have the backing of one of the most popular girls in the grade."

Ruby chuckles in memory of the first few days where her sister could only seem to remember Jaune as 'barf boy', making the name catch on rather quickly.

"What's with the drawing of the woods anyway? Everything I've known about you screams indoor person."

"Going on adventures into the woods around Patch was how I bonded with mom as a kid."

Ruby had packed her bags as she explained and the two made their way out of the classroom.

"Sorry, didn't mean to dig up sad memories."

"They aren't sad, and it wasn't really you anyway. I've had mom on my mind for over a week now."

"Why's that? Was it her birthday or something?"

"Weiss caught me sneaking out last full moon and we talked for a while… about faunus stuff. Made me all nostalgic having a partner out past midnight and now I can't really get her off my mind."

"Weiss didn't know about wolf faunus going out during a full moon? It seemed like pretty common knowledge to me."

"Because I _told_ you it was common. I just didn't really have a chance to bring it up to Weiss."

The pair exited out into a large courtyard while taking a scenic route back to dorms. Their partners have been keeping them busy the last few weeks so this was the only time Ruby and Jaune really got to talk outside of mealtime with both teams.

 _I actually don't have a study session with Weiss, so maybe we can finally have a nerds' day off._

"You know I finally got the board games I left at home in the mail. Wanna come play at my room? I'm sure I can rope Blake into playing with us if not Yang."

"Eh… Sorry Ruby. I'd love to but I promised Pyrrha I'd spar after class until dinner. I took the scenic route because I won't last that long but I don't think she'll be happy if I blow it off for board games."

"Man she's become more demanding than Weiss after the whole bullying fiasco."

"They weren't bullying! It was just some… aggressive… male bonding! You wouldn't understand."

"Uh-huh. Well since you seem okay with getting beat up, I guess you're okay to aggressively bond with Pyrrha now. Have fun!"

With that Ruby uses her semblance to disappear into the nearest building then watch Jaune squirm for a bit before walking dejectedly back towards the dorms.

 _Aggressive bonding, Hah! That was not aggressive bonding, and I would know. I've lived with Yang Xiao Long my whole life._

Ruby begins walking through the building while debating where to go next when a faint singing voice interrupts her train of thought. Ruby pulls back the hood of her cape and strains her ears, trying to find where the vaguely familiar sound was coming from. Her search leads Ruby to a large set of double doors down a long hallway. With the distance between her and the voice closed significantly, Ruby confirms the voice to belong to her own partner, and the girl nearly jumps for joy when she realizes that fact.

 _FINALLY! I've tried for weeks to get to hear Weiss sing!_

Ruby presses one of her ears directly against the large door to hear Weiss as clearly as possible. After a short pause for what Ruby assumes to be an instrumental section, Weiss continues in a whisper so quiet Ruby can't even make out the words. In response Ruby pushes the side of her head harder and harder against the wall until-

 _OH NO!_

"Wooahh!"

With a small crash Ruby falls through the now opened door and lays just feet away from an equally shocked and pissed Weiss; the latter sitting at a desk with a large, expensive looking headset on and a matching microphone in front of the computer.

 _Shit! Quick, say anything to take her mind off of singing!_

"Hey Weiss! You know if there's a word for a body of water bigger than a pond but smaller than a lake?"

" **What the HELL are you doing!?"**

"Ah… Sorry! Sorry! I… I … I… "

"SPIT IT OUT!"

"IjustneverheardyousingandIalwayswantedtoandyoualwaysrefusetowhenIaskandevenwhenwewenttodokaraokeyoudidn'tsingand-"

"STOP!"

Ruby physically winces at the command but immediately stops talking, covering her mouth with her hands from her own position now seated on the floor. After a few deep breaths, Weiss speaks again, this time in a stern but not loud voice.

"Now, in _full sentences_ … and _pausing_ between words… tell me what you are doing here."

"Well, me and Jaune were taking the scenic route back to dorms after class. After we parted I went through the building and heard you singing. I really wanted to hear more so I came up to the door and was pressed up against it. When you got quiet I pushed against it harder and didn't realize it was opening. I love your voice by the way."

"I've told you before, I don't sing for other people."

"But you voice is really pretty. I'm sure everyone else would love it."

"It's not about how I sound; it's the same reason I only sing my own music."

"So you made the whole song yourself?"

Ruby's eyes light up and even she knew she looked like a dog staring at a treat. Before the next question could even come out-

"No Ruby. You-"

"PLEASE let me listen Weiss! I'm sure I'll love it! And it's about you so I get to learn more about you! I'll do anything! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEAASEEE!"

Weiss puts her head in one of her hands and begins muttering to herself. Ruby only managed to catch the last two words- 'concern you.' After another sigh, Weiss faces away from Ruby and answers.

"Fine… Just never beg that way again. It's disgraceful and childish. You're training to be a huntress, so you need to grow up."

Ruby vanishes into a flurry of rose petals before reappearing inches away from Weiss with her arms around her partner's neck, hugging her from behind while smiling gleefully.

"Point proven." Is all Weiss says while detaching the childish girl from her back.

Weiss pulls up a second chair and begins to hand Ruby the large headset plugged into her computer before realizing her mistake and pulling them back.

"Err… I don't have a set of in-ear headphones on me… So you'll have to hold these to use them." Weiss' cheeks turn a bit pink as she realizes the headset's human design.

"It's okay, I have my own set that I use with my scroll. I made them myself a while back because most headphones are uncomfortable."

Ruby reaches behind her and pulls out an odd looking set of headphones that look slightly like mittens, except for wolf ears instead of hands. They completely cover her ears like Weiss' headset would, but the sides are only connected by a wire like in ear headphones.

After putting on the headphones Ruby gives the opposite end to Weiss to put into her computer.

"The song isn't finished so you only get part of it. And no I won't let you listen to anything else. Ready?"

After nodding, an instrumental with an electric guitar focus fades in leading into the part Weiss was whispering before Ruby interrupted.

 **A/N: The song is Glow by Nano. I'd recommend looking up the song and listening, it's around 3 min in.**

"Now it's time for you to walk the distance.

Nothing is left for me but only silence.

In this sentimental glowing twilight,

You're falling away.

Alone I face the night.

You will stand forever deep inside of me.

Just my stupid little childish fantasy.

In this sentimental glowing twilight,

I'm falling apart,

Without you.

Can you wipe away,

All of my tears?

Can you fight away,

All my fears?

I'm reaching out my hand, trying to hold on,

To the you that I don't want to lose."

As the lyrics began Ruby found herself back in the forests on patch, under the moonlit sky once again. She was looking at the smiling face of her mother, like she has in all her dreams recently. The more the song went on, the closer Ruby felt to the scene before her. By the time the lyrics finished Ruby was sure if she reached out she would be able to feel her mom right in front of her.

A slight shake and the sound of her name being called ripped Ruby away from her dreamlike state and back into the room containing her and her partner. Weiss has her hands on both of Ruby's shoulders; her eyes are wide and mouth slightly open while softly calling out the younger girl's name.

"Something wrong Weiss?"

"Ruby… Did you not realize you were crying?"

Ruby raises one of her hands up to her face and feels the wet streaks of tears around her eyes. She uses the sleeves of her shirt to quickly wipe away the tears and chuckles in response.

"Guess not. It's just a really beautiful… and sad… song."

"Yeah, that's why I don't want others to listen. It's not the kind of music you would listen to idly."

"That's not true! I still really liked it, even if it is sad. And I'd definitely listen to it while studying or just walking around."

"I'm sure you would. Now if you'll excuse me I'm not done working. I'll be back in the room before dinner and we can talk then."

Weiss unplugs her partner's headphones and holds the end with the jack out for the latter to take. Ruby takes back the end of the headphones but was far from done with the conversation. Before Weiss can put her headphones back on or even turn towards her computer, Ruby calls out again.

"Hey Weiss."

…

There was a small but notable pause before Weiss responds, making Ruby wonder if she was about to be completely ignored. Just as Ruby begins to reach out for her partner's shoulder the response comes.

"What is it, Ruby?"

While the line wasn't sung, it was delivered with the same forlorn emotion as the song she just heard.

"Can I ask who the song is about? I mean, you wrote the lyrics yourself, so I assume it was about your own life in some way…"

…

Another pause. This time Weiss eyes are pointed at the ground and her only response is a long sigh.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want-"

"It's fine."

Just as Ruby was about to get up so Weiss wouldn't have to tell her story, Weiss gives in. When the older girl turns back towards the seat she pulled up earlier, Ruby gives her undivided attention.

 _This story obviously means a lot to Weiss. The least I can do is listen carefully._

"So do you remember why I wanted to become a huntress right?"

"Of course. You were saved by some amazing hunter when you were captured by the white fang and you wanted to follow in their footsteps."

"The song is about that person."

Ruby's mouth opens and closes in response to the revelation. Maybe it was because she knew 'sorry' wasn't a good enough response, or maybe it was the semiconscious connection she made between her own life, her mom, and the story; but Ruby couldn't say anything.

"The person was a faunus, and my father believed it was all a ruse to corrupt the Schnee household. I remember overhearing him during a call saying 'I will make them pay for thinking a _faunus_ is allowed to _touch_ my daughter.' I still hear that conversation in nightmares sometimes."

"What was he like? It's sounds like you really liked him."

"Kind. Warm. Friendly. The softest warrior you would ever meet. And they didn't even care when I said I was a Schnee. It's because of that person that I am able to get along with faunus like you."

"And your dad killed him for it."

Weiss nods in affirmation.

"That person was a better parent in one night than my real parents were in almost two decades."

"I never realized you looked up to him so much. If you ever want to talk about it more…"

"I know where to find you. Maybe I'll let you listen to this when it's done."

Weiss points to her computer with one hand while wiping away the beginnings of tears with her other. She gives a small smile before turning back towards her computer, making the end of the conversation. Ruby quietly gets up to leave with the picture of Weiss' savior and role model filling her thoughts.

\- Weiss Schnee: 3 October 132 Post-Great War 12:52 AM-

Weiss had spent the last hour, maybe more, trying to fall asleep. Tossing and turning, covering her head with her pillow, wrapping her bedsheets tighter than throwing them off completely; no matter how hard she tried, the heiress couldn't get a restful sleep. With all of her ideas exhausted, Weiss starts to reacquaint herself with the land of the living when she begins hearing a faint mumbling. Her body instinctively went on high alert, thinking someone had broken into her room. Weiss goes completely still and focus completely on the sound coming from the middle of team RWBY's dorm. She had to focus on every sound to get a good idea of the potential threat since her back was turned and she couldn't turn to look without drawing attention to herself.

…

After a few moments of near perfect silence, there came a faint sniffling from behind her. In the next few seconds of listening Weiss realized the person behind her was low to the ground, most likely sitting or lying down. And surprisingly, the person seemed to be crying.

 _Seeing as they're crying they probably aren't an intruder, so who is it?_

Weiss tries to block out the soft crying and listen for her other teammates. First was Yang. She was the easiest to account for since she snores softly. When she would wake up at night, Weiss would try to determine the time based on whether or not she could hear the sound of the blonde sleeping across the room. Since she couldn't hear the snoring, she couldn't rule out the person behind her being Yang. However, Weiss knew she wasn't asleep long, and assumed Yang still hadn't returned to the dorms.

Next was Ruby. Blake was an almost silent sleeper so she had to be saved for last. While Ruby didn't make much noise while she slept, Weiss could never forget the sound of her partner's bed rocking when she moved around in her sleep. The sound that haunts Weiss' nightmares was noticeably absent yet again, and Weiss knew Ruby had been lying in her bed just an hour ago.

 _But it's possible she went out again. It's been almost a month since the last full moon._

Weiss was in a bit of a bind. On one hand, she felt like this was a personal moment that she shouldn't be spying on. On the other, she wanted to know what could be bothering one of her teammates this much.

 _Okay, even if I turn around, they probably won't notice that I'm awake. I don't know if I'm really close enough to talk to Blake about this, but if it's Ruby…_

Mustering up her courage, Weiss turned as quietly as possible and saw a small, hooded figure sitting in the moonlit area near the center of the dorm room. Ruby was seated in a fetal position with her face buried in her kneecaps. Just over biceps Weiss could barely make out the left side of her partners face. Her eye was shut tightly and her teeth were showing. Weiss was sure she could even see the moon reflected in the tears running down her cheek.

The sight in front of her brought Weiss back to her nightmares, laying in a car bound and blindfolded. Weiss could feel the pain from that night, the fear and sadness that came when she was taken away. As the memory brought her to her encounter with Summer, Weiss got out of bed and instinctively moved to Ruby's side.

Following the lead of her role model, Weiss wrapped her arms around her partner and softly spoke some of the same words Summer did all those years ago. The younger girl's head snapped up violently and Ruby nearly jumped to her feet at the contact. Ruby turned to face Weiss wide eyed, looking like a deer in headlights.

 _Is this what Summer saw all those years ago?_

"Ruby… If you want to talk about what's wrong…"

Ruby waved her hand dismissively and wiped the tears from her face, trying poorly to deny what Weiss just witnessed.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I was just about to take a walk around campus."

"Ruby, please. You can't just blame this on the moon, you weren't crying last time."

Ruby fidgets and stutters for a few seconds trying to come up with another excuse. Weiss thinks back to last week and how Ruby mentioned wanting to go into a forest like old times, as well as how she promised not to do it again when Weiss caught her.

"If it will make you feel better, I'll go into the forest with you."

"I promised I wouldn't go out there."

"I said don't go out there _alone_. If you really need to go out into the forest to deal with… whatever this is… just wake me up first."

"Thanks… and I really do need this."

"Just let me change and get Myrtenaster from the lockers."

Weiss quickly went into the bathroom and slipped into a combat dress she pulled from the closet. As soon as she walked out, a hand grabbed her arm and she was swiftly pulled off her feet. In the blink of an eye she felt an outdoor breeze and realized she was being pulled out of the dorm. On instinct she put a repulsion glyph between her arm and the hand and forced the two apart, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"What the hell was that for!?"

"I just thought it would be quicker if I used my semblance. I didn't mean to scare you I swear! I just thought since I carried you last time you wouldn't mind and-"

"That doesn't mean pull me out a window without warning the second I get out of the bathroom! I thought I was being kidnapped!"

Ruby was staring at the ground with her hood pulled over her face again, obviously scared to face Weiss. The older of the two took a few deep breaths to compose herself again before walking up to the quivering girl and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Just please, before you do anything involving me, think for a second. If you even remotely think I'll get mad at what you do, ask me first. If I had a weapon on me I might've slashed your arm on instinct."

"Sorry…"

"It's fine, let's just get my weapon."

"Hey Weiss?"

"What is it?"

"Can I carry you again? It was faster and kinda fun last time."

 _It might wear her out quicker too, allowing us to actually get some sleep._

"Knock yourself out. But don't pull me by the arm, that ride scared me half to death… And you will _never_ mention this to Yang."

\- Ruby Rose: 3 October 132 Post-Great War 2:00 AM-

Ruby flops down into a patch of grass near the body of water she found last month. She takes deep, long breaths and tries to slow her heartrate after a lot of running around and a few battles with various types of E level grimm. While nothing was particularly dangerous, Ruby was moving at full speed and concentrating as much as possible on every fight. By exhausting her body she gained a slight peace of mind while she laid in the grass, focusing only on her breathing and heartrate.

Weiss had got off her back shortly after reaching their location, but didn't participate in the fighting at Ruby's request. Therefore she just scanned the area while letting the younger girl rest. After a few moments of silence only broken by the breeze and Weiss' footsteps, the older girl made the first remark.

"As far as I know, ponds and lakes aren't differentiated by size. Ponds are still water with no connecting waterways while lakes have currents formed by rivers that feed them. So I'm guessing this is just a really big pond."

Ruby took a few seconds to register what was just said, then started giggling. The laughter just got worse the longer she thought about what was just said and eventually was on her side holding her stomach.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, but really nothing I said was _that_ funny."

"It's not that- It's just- I don't know what's funnier: The fact that you remembered that throwaway question from weeks ago or that you actually had an answer for it." The response came in spurts as that's all Ruby could say between fits of giggles.

"I remembered while learning about major bodies of water around a week ago."

Ruby recovers from her giggling fit and lies on her back again staring up at the sky. Her eyes focus on the full moon and the smile completely leaves Ruby's face. In her head, the song Weiss sang weeks ago. She can almost see her mother in the night sky again when Weiss breaks the silent moment.

"Are you feeling up to talk about what happened now? You seem a bit more composed and I'd like to know what had you that upset."

 _Maybe it's better than sitting here crying again._

"…It started when I heard your song a couple weeks ago. While I was listening to you sing, I swear I could see Mom right in front of me. It felt so real, like if I reached out I could touch her."

The younger girl reaches out one arm towards the moon, grasping at the air as she talks.

"Ruby…"

The leader holds up one finger signaling Weiss to wait. If she was going to talk about this, she wanted to say everything first.

"And… Ever since then… Whenever I get a moment to myself… I'm back there, listening to the song… looking at mom. I was able to keep myself busy during the week… I tried to keep my mind focused elsewhere so I was either asleep or preoccupied and it worked for the most part… But when the full moon came I couldn't sleep and I knew I wouldn't calm down just by taking a walk. When I got up and saw the moon, it all caught up at once… I-I…"

At this point Ruby was sitting in the fetal position, with Weiss' arms wrapped around her once again. The heiress offered to finish the conversation there, saying she understood, but Ruby just shook her head 'no' every time. After a few minutes of crying, Ruby had calmed down enough to make out the last few sentences.

"I just want to know… know she didn't leave me. She was a super mom, everything I ever wanted to be! I want to know she won, and she didn't just abandon me. I want to know she was out there saving the world. But instead I don't even know if she's alive… Or if she even left for a mission in the first place or just disappeared like Yang's mom."

"Ruby… There's something I need to tell you."

Ruby remains silent, but her ears rose slightly to signify she's listening.

"Back when I was saved from the kidnapping, the woman who saved me gave me a yellow rose."

"Woman?"

This time Weiss put a finger in front of Ruby's mouth, hushing her so she could finish.

"I knew because my parents didn't like faunus that they couldn't figure out about her, so I hid the rose in a drawer in my room when I got back… The thing is, even after days passed, the rose never wilted. It didn't get any sunlight or water and still was in perfect condition after days. It wasn't until years later that I realized it was the woman's semblance keeping it alive."

Ruby's eyes rose to meet Weiss'. The realization was setting in and the younger of the two had eyes as wide as baseballs, the shock of her realization left her completely speechless.

"Ruby, I'm really sorry. If I knew Summer would die for saving me I would rather we never m-"

"Don't say that!"

Ruby wraps her arms around her partner and squeezes with a Xiao Long's strength, yelling into her partner's shoulder.

"If she didn't save you… you wouldn't be here right now. She is… she was a real superhero, and I'm really glad you loved her as much as I did."

"I can't give you your mom back, but I swear I'll do whatever I can to help fill the void left by her."

"And I'll do the same for you. I know she meant a lot to you too."

After a few minutes of silence Weiss finally broke the hug. Ruby was still a mess from the fighting earlier as well as the recent crying, but she didn't feel lost or completely depressed like earlier that night. Weiss gave a soft smile before suggesting they head back. With the prospect of sleep brought up Ruby realized her body was completely drained and even standing up felt like she was lifting a truck. Weiss must have noticed because before Ruby could take a step her partner positioned herself to support the leader and keep her from falling.

After Ruby found her balance, Weiss crouched slightly in front of the leader while facing the opposite direction as her.

"You're in no condition to be making the trek back. I'll carry you."

Ruby wanted to make an argument against that, but her body made the decision for her when she started falling forward onto Weiss. After struggling to adjust the person on her back and get comfortable for the hike Weiss began making the trek back to the dorms. Ruby began to doze off and rested her chin on Weiss shoulder. Before she completely fell asleep, she asked her partner one question.

"Can you talk about mom some?"

The older of the two began to tell the full, detailed story of her encounter with Summer, despite knowing her partner would be asleep before anything actually happened. It was a good way to pass the time while walking back anyway.

\- Weiss Schnee: 3 October 132 Post-Great War 3:36 AM-

Weiss shifted the weight on her back and dug her hand into her pocket, fishing for her scroll. The brightness of the screen nearly blinded her as she tried to unlock the phone so she could get into her dorm room. Exhaustion has taken its toll on Weiss and she felt like she would just collapse on the floor after entering the room. Even the voice acknowledging their return was barely processed by the heiress.

"You two took your sweet time today. Not doing any-"

Despite her body's protest, Weiss was put on full alert immediately after entering the room. The sudden change in temperature and the audible thump of her teammate jumping down from her bed made Weiss realize the problem with carrying her partner back to the dorms.

"What THE **F-** "

"This isn't what it looks like! She's just sleeping, I swear."

While Weiss managed to keep Yang from waking the entire building, the blonde's blood red eyes and the noticeable heat made sure she knew she had some explaining to do.

"Tell me exactly what happened. _Now._ "

Weiss was pretty sure the statement was closer to a threat than a command. She would have liked to keep the conversation between her and Ruby, but the situation forced her to play her hand. At least this way the conversation could be kept at a whisper.

"We went out into the emerald forest and talked about Summer. It was a long night physically and emotionally for her, and she ended up falling asleep. Now can you help me get her into her bed?"

Weiss really wanted to say 'nothing happened' or at least 'nothing _bad_ happened,' but she thought 'getting confirmation her mother is dead' qualified as something bad. The blonde took the team leader off of Weiss' back and quickly checked for injuries. It wasn't until after her inspection finished that the room began to cool and the red eyes of the blonde returned to their normal lilac color. As Yang moved to put Ruby's sleeping body in her bed, Weiss let out an audible sigh almost immediately followed by a yawn. She knew a shower and a change of clothes were in order but her body couldn't be bothered right now. As she moved to get onto her bed a firm grip roughly pulled her away.

"We need to talk."

That was all Yang had to say as she dragged the dead tired heiress out of the dorm and over to the empty lounge room near the middle of the floor. It wasn't until they were seated in adjacent couches that Weiss was able to get a word through to the blonde.

"Yang, please. I'm far too tired to start an argument. Be mad all you want tomorrow, but I need sleep."

"I'm not here to argue. I just want to know what you know about Summer."

It finally dawned on Weiss that Yang never knew about Summer's death either. Since her mother left her at childbirth, Summer was almost as much Yang's mom as she was Ruby's. So it makes sense that she wanted to know what the two talked about.

"Ruby had been thinking about her mom a lot recently, and I guess it's been getting to her."

"What did Ruby tell you about her?" Yang's normal arrogance and playfulness was completely gone. The girl in front of Weiss now looked equal parts genuinely curious and deadly serious.

"She mentioned seeing her mother as a superhero, and how she was afraid Summer left her like your mom did."

"I was hoping she'd accept that Summer is dead by now." A small, depressed chuckle escaped Yang, who now was now staring off into a far corner of the room, as if looking into a distant memory.

"So you knew?"

"There was never a body, but she was announced dead a few months after she had been gone missing."

"oh…"

Weiss was torn about mentioning her own connection to Summer. Ruby's reaction was surprisingly positive, but Weiss wasn't expecting that from the more volatile of the sister. Yang would probably burn the dorm building down if she figured out Weiss was the reason Summer died.

"How did you know her name?"

"What?"

"Ruby has never once called her mom by her first name. I would know. She doesn't even let me call mom 'Summer' around her. And I know I haven't told you her name before today. So how did you know Summer?"

 _So much for hiding that part._

"Remember the story about wanting to become a huntress? Well, Summer was the one who saved me. _I_ was her last mission."

Weiss sat on the edge of her seat, ready for Yang to strike at any moment. When she looked at her blonde teammate, however, there was no ill intent to be seen. Yang's arms still rested on her lap, and her eyes remained their natural color. The shock was showing on her face, but she surprisingly didn't show any hostility.

"Wow…" that was all the blonde managed to say after a solid minute of staring.

"Yeah, I had a dream about the two of them the day before initiation and realized the next day that the two were related. I didn't have the heart to tell Ruby until now."

"How'd she take it?"

"As you can see the whole night was pretty draining. Overall I think she handled it well. She seemed happy that I liked Summer and proud of her mom's success. Honestly I think she helped me cope better than I helped her."

"That's the other thing I wanted to talk about."

Weiss snapped out of a memory of the past few hours and looked back up at Yang.

"You two have gotten a lot closer than I expected over the past couple months. Before it's too late, I want to make sure you understand something about Ruby."

"Too late for what?"

Yang took a deep breath, signaling the beginning of a long and important story. Despite her complete exhaustion earlier, Weiss was wide awake now, not wanting to miss a word that was to come.

"Ever since her mom disappeared, Ruby has had a… constant fear… of being abandoned. Especially by people close to her. If you two were to continue seeing each other as much as you do, she may get attached… And at that point, you won't be able to just go your separate ways. Like, if you wanted to work with your company instead of being a huntress, you couldn't just leave for another part of the country. At least, not without potentially causing a relapse."

"This happened all because her mom died? I mean, she still had you and her father right?"

"I guess I should tell you what it was like after Summer left…"

* * *

As you know, Summer was dad's second wife. His first, my mom, up and vanished shortly after I was born. There was an awkward period for us after Ruby heard that story, but Summer treated me like her own, so she seemed to get over it pretty quickly. I guess Ruby had thought about Summer leaving like my mom did, even before she died. The idea probably started there.

Ruby probably mentioned that her mom never said goodbye, seeing as she didn't go out there expecting to die, and Ruby obviously thought her mom's too strong to ever die on a mission. So Ruby denied the fact that her mom wasn't coming back. She didn't even attend her funeral. Instead, she simply waited; believing one day she would just show up and things would be back to normal. After the funeral, dad started to change. He was in pretty bad shape after my mom left him, and Summer being declared dead probably pushed him over the top. He spent the next couple years doing three things: working, drinking, and sleeping. He would be away from home for days at a time on missions, and when he wasn't he would only come home after we went to bed. He just couldn't bear to see us, brought up too many memories. At home it essentially became me and Ruby, that's it.

I think she felt like both her parents abandoned her, and that's when she got clingy. She started sleeping in my bed every night, afraid that I would be gone as soon as I left the room. The only time we were apart from each other was during classes at school, and there was more than one occasion where she had a nervous breakdown in the middle of class, only calming down after I was there again. If we were ever apart, I had to give her an exact time and place where we would meet up again.

Ruby already had some troubles with bullies because she was a faunus, but her mental state really brought out the worst. Even people from my classes were picking on her after rumors started spreading. Ruby's always been a specialist with weapons, but couldn't fight unarmed, so I usually had to step in and stop the bullies. In a way I have to thank her because I wouldn't be nearly the fighter I am if not for all the school brawls I got in. I first learned boxing from dad, but he after Summer died that really became my only way of learning. I probably would have gotten thrown out of school if not for Qrow teaching there. He's my mom's brother and the only one who seemed to stay sane after Summer's death.

He really was the reason my family is functional today. He spent every second of free time he had either forcing dad to shape up or helping curb Ruby's fear. Ruby only really turned around after she finished the first version of Crescent Rose. At the time it was simple, just a folding scythe made of light enough metal for the girl to carry around beneath her cape with ease. Ruby treated it as part of the family; I think she sees it as the one thing that will never leave her.

It was what she needed to start doing things on her own again. She would go out with it at night and train by herself out in the woods, exhausting herself to the point of collapse like tonight. It was at that time that we established the routine of us both going out late and coming home to talk about our nights before bed. That's why I was waiting on the last couple full moons. It helps reassure Ruby that I won't skip town on her.

Dad's still a shade of his former self, but nowadays he at least tries. He doesn't avoid us or go out drinking anymore, and even went out of his way to have dinner with us when he didn't have a mission. In public he could look like nothing bad happened to him, but if you got a before and after you'd still be shocked.

* * *

"Ruby got back her energetic, childlike personality, but still has problems meeting new people and I don't think she's tried to really get to know someone before you. Also there's the real fear that she'll relapse if another person leaves her."

Weiss was looking down at the floor, processing everything she learned.

"Don't worry Yang; I would never abandon Ruby like that, and as her partner we'd be doing missions together, so there shouldn't be any problems there."

"I trust you Weiss. Given your experience with Summer, it feels like your and Ruby were destined to meet."

Yang gets up from the lounge chair and extends a hand to Weiss, tilting her head towards their dorm room again. As she takes the hand and is pulled to her feet, a long yawn escapes her, making her realize again just how badly she needs to get to sleep.

"Tomorrow is going to be absolutely awful…"

"If you're gonna start spending every full moon with Ruby, get used to it."

The pair returned to their dorm room, both glancing briefly at the peacefully slumbering Ruby before climbing into their respective beds and instantly falling asleep.

\- Weiss Schnee: 3 October 132 Post-Great War 8:46 AM-

A faint beeping can be heard while Weiss feels her body rhythmically rise and fall. She knows she should figure out what's going on, but her body refuses to move, no matter how hard her mind commands it. Her eyelids feel like they're stapled together and even the constant calling of her name barely registers in her brain. After a few minutes of the sound getting louder and the bouncing more annoying, Weiss head finally manages to move her head to face the center of the room.

She opens one eye just enough to catch a glimpse of the source of both the noise and the motion, as Ruby appears to be bouncing on her bed yelling her name. After a few blinks and a groan, she opens her eyes wide enough to see the other half of team RWBY talking casually, one of the two being way too awake given what happened last night. When Yang looks and meets Weiss' gaze, the latter gives a glare trying to telepathically question the blonde.

 _How the hell are you that awake after four hours of sleep?_

"Coffee is an amazing drink." The blonde replies holding up a white mug before taking a sip and turning back to Blake.

With far too much energy, Ruby forcibly pulls Weiss out of her bed and stands her up, explaining how little time there is until their first class. Weiss is barely able to catch one word of her partner's babbling, using her limited concentration to barely keep herself upright.

 _This is going to be a long… LONG… day._

 **Just like RWBY and all the other stuff I may reference in this story, I don't own Glow or any of Nano's music blahblahblah. This really should be implied given its called** ** _fan_** **fiction… not like** ** _author_** **fiction or** ** _artist_** **fiction or whatever.**

 **Also just as a precaution for anyone reading this: Just assume the story is on an indefinite hiatus until the next chapter comes out. I tend to write like 3+ hours at a time, then not write for days/weeks. I have no clue when I'll finish a chapter, so checking for updates daily is probably a bad idea. I hope I have more time/motivation to write in the future, but no promises. I'm taking 6 college classes this semester, then I'm expected to work, so who knows what my time is gonna be like.**


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